Huntresses in the Apocalypse
by TravisT
Summary: After team RWBY was mysteriously transported to a strange foreign world, they soon find creatures even more vicious than Grimm, and have to fight their way through the world to survive with four other people. But what happens when they learn they aren't from this world? Rated M for graphic violence and strong language.
1. Chapter 1: Tough Arrival

Chapter 1: Tough Arrival

Once the team awoke, nothing was correct. To start, the moon was whole, and not broken. Then, there was the place they were in. It was a disaster area, buildings on fire, cars broken down, crashed, and also burning. In fact, it seemed almost half the city was on fire. And the most unsettling thing about it all was the fact that there was no one around. Not a single living person was to be seen, aside from the occasional missing limb, or other body part none of them could identify. And something told them they didn't want to know.

"What even is this place? We're definitely not on Remnant anymore." Weiss said.

"Anyone else's creepometer going bananas right now?" Yang asked.

"To the max right now." Ruby said.

"We're not going to learn anything by standing around. Maybe we should look around. This place might well be a ghost town." Blake said.

"More like a ghost city." Yang said, this time actually not trying to make a pun. They went inside a wrecked building, but nothing was to be seen. Then, they heard gunfire, as well as screeching. Not of Grimm, but of... something else. They also heard shouting. People shouting. The team then rushed to the noise to see four people, one armed with an assault rifle, another with an Uzi, another with a shotgun, and the last with two pistols, fighting off a stampede of other people. Though, something was off about them. Their skin was pale, and their teeth rotten, their clothes torn and they ran like savages. This happened in an alley, and the girl with the pistols threw a strange device, which beeped and flashed, seeming to distract the people and make them rush for it, the device later exploding.

Just then, a helicopter flew over, the black man in the dress shirt ran after it, shouting "Hey! We're down here! We're not infected! Down here!" But if the helicopter pilot heard him, he didn't care. "Dammit." The man cursed. The team came up to him, but as they did, a hooded person leaped with extreme speed and pounced on the man, using his claws to rip his flesh. The team decided to act, Ruby shoving off the person and Blake shooting the person with Gambol Shroud, the man bringing the fatal bullet.

However, the person landed on the trunk of a car, which unfortunately started the alarm. "Oh, this is about to get bad." The old man of the group said, reloading his M16. Then, the same demonic screeching filled the city. They looked out the street to see most likely thousands of those things charging for them. The team didn't really have any idea on what was going on, but they knew it was bad. As they drew their weapons, there was another noise. One of roaring.

A super huge creature slightly resembling that of an ape threw a car, smashing a gate and a good few of those things.

"Run or shoot?" The man, who they later learned was named Louis, asked. "Run or shoot?!"

"Both!" The old man yelled, everyone running down an alley, firing their weapons at will. The ape seemed to just take the bullets like they were nothing, which worried them. Soon, they found a fire escape.

"To the roof!" Louis exclaimed.

"Go go go!" The biker guy said, aiming his shotgun as everyone else went up.

"You guys go! I'll help him!" Ruby said, putting Crescent Rose into shotgun mode. Once the beast came around, they fired as fast as they could, but it still charged through their bullets, even Ruby's bullets which were much stronger than the biker's. It then slammed then into a wall. Ruby was about to put Crescent Rose into scythe form when the old man fired his rifle at the beast, which caught his attention on him. It slammed a wall, narrowly missing the old man. It then threw a rock at the fire escape, Ruby and the biker narrowly dodging it. They climbed faster, for fear of their lives. The girl up top fired her pistols, killing a creature that would have gotten the old man.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" The girl yelled, killing a few more of the creatures. The beast then started climbing after them. The old man climbed with surprising speed, narrowly avoiding the beast multiple times. The girl continually shot it, but soon had to jump. However, the platform began to give out and gave her little to jump from. "Francis!" She exclaimed as she began to fall, but the biker quickly grabbed her arm as the beast fell to his death. Yang came over and helped her up with the biker, everyone catching their breath.

"We... We made it. I can't believe we made it!" Louis said.

"Son, we just crossed the street." The old man said, lighting a cigar. "Let's not throw a party until we're out of the city."

"Okay, hold on, can anyone explain to us what in the flaming hell is going on?" Yang exclaimed.

"Where have you been, under a rock? It's the goddamn vampire apocalypse." The biker said.

"They aren't vampires Francis. They're zombies." Louis said.

"Right. Zombies." Yang sighed. "Just our friggin luck."

"I guess it's better than... non-zombies." Weiss said.

"Still, it feels wrong killing them. They were people before." Ruby said.

"I know how that feels. But right now, in this city, it's kill or be killed." The girl said.

"Ah, looks like we're in luck. Weapons and first aid kits." The old man said. "Louis, let me patch your wounds. That Hunter must've done a number on you."

"Yeah. Just a scratch." Louis said, but the wound looked much more serious. "It doesn't hurt as much as it looks."

"I hope so. You lost quite a bit of blood." The old man said.

"So while we're patching Louis, you said, right? While we're patching him up, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Yang." Yang said.

"I'm Francis." Francis said.

"My name's Zoey, and that's Bill." Zoey said.

"I'm Ruby, and this is Weiss and Blake. Together, we're team RWBY." Ruby said.

"And yes, it does bring some confusion." Weiss said.

"Good to know. Well, you seem like alright enough people." Francis said.

"Thanks. Same to you, I guess." Yang said.

"Alright, I think that'll hold you for now." Bill said.

"Thank Bill." Louis said, getting up.

"Looks like we're ready to go." Yang said.

"But where do we go?" Francis asked, just as the helicopter from before came flying over.

"To any survivors that can hear this: proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation. Repeat: proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation." The pilot said.

"Mercy Hospital, I guess." Yang said.

"We can take the subway tunnel to Mercy. There's an entrance not far from here if I remember the streets right." Bill said.

"We should be ready for worse. Everyone grab a weapon." Zoey said.

"Might as well." Weiss said, taking an Uzi, as well as Blake. Ruby and yang took the pump shotgun.

Bill unfortunately lost his gun while the Tank was chasing them, so he took the Uzi as well. Francis and Louis grabbed ammo for their weapons and everyone grabbed a health kit.

"Alright, locked and loaded and ready to kick some undead butt." Yang said, cracking her knuckles.

"We can't take the fire escape down, so guess we'll take the harder route." Zoey said.

A/N

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter and, to extension, the start of this story. I'm going to try to stick to the normal L4D storyline, but I'll try to bring in my own twists to the story. For those that read Sonosublime's interpretation of the L4D maps, you know what I'm talking about. If not, I actually really recommend you read it. It is very interesting. Anyway, until next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2: Subway Traversal

Chapter 2: Subway Traversal

Once they all loaded up and we're ready to fight, Zoey opened the door, which revealed a staircase downward.

"We got nowhere else to go, but I'm willing to bet there's a good amount of zombies between us and the subway." Zoey said.

"Then let's kick them back to hell." Yang said.

"Damn right." Francis said. They went down the stairs, and coming to a few zombies, which they took care of fairly quickly. Once they cleared the floor, they searched the place for any useful items. Ruby found a bottle of pain pills and Bill found a pistol.

"An extra pistol. Might come in handy." Bill said, putting it with his other pistol. "Actually. Hey, Blake. You might be needing this. Not the greatest weapon, but it'll serve you better than nothing when you're fighting for your life." Bill said, handing the pistol to Blake.

"Not entirely out of my comfort zone. I've learned to use a pistol in the wild." Blake said.

"There's another staircase." Louis said, followed by some gunshots. They went down and fired on some more zombies.

"Be careful not to catch any of us in the crossfire. Don't want any of us dying before we get to the hospital." Bill said.

"So you four, why didn't you know about the vampires? Where have you been the past two weeks?" Francis asked.

"We just-" Weiss said.

"We're hermits." Ruby said.

"Hermits? In a group?" Louis chuckled.

"Hermits United. We meet up every few years and tell stories about caves. It's good fun. You know, for a hermit." Ruby said.

"Alright. Well, as long as you're handy with a gun, I got no problem." Francis said.

"Ruby, can we talk for a second?" Weiss said, everyone getting out of earshot. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Look, I thought about it logically. If we told them we were from another planet, they'd think we were crazy. I mean, what would you say if someone not from Remnant came there and said they were from another planet?" Ruby said.

"She holds a valid point. I believe she is right." Blake said.

"Alright, fine. I get that, but why hermits?" Weiss asked.

"It was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby shrugged.

"Also... Hermits United?" Yang laughed.

"I improvised." Ruby said.

"You got that from Professor Who, don't lie." Yang chucked.

"And it was worth it." Ruby smirked.

"Alright, the floor is cleared. Search for anything useful." Bill said. They then went to scavenging, but they found little to nothing. They continued on, stepping through a hole in the wall. Then, they heard a noise like coughing.

"What is that?" Weiss asked.

"Smoker." Bill snarled, raising his shotgun. He motioned everyone to move forward, and then a large slender man spat out what seemed to be a tongue and wrapped it around Bill, Zoey being first to react and shooting the Smoker in the face, killing it. They unwrapped Bill from the tongue and got him up.

"What the heck was that thing?" Yang asked, startled.

"A Smoker. They'll grab you and yank you away, and while you're trapped, you can't do a thing but struggle, which makes you a perfect meal for the zombies." Bill said.

"Great. So, basically, a mutation or whatever." Yang said.

"Exactly. We ourselves have only seen them a select few times." Bill said.

"Hey, there's a hole here! It leads down. I think this is the last floor." Ruby said.

"Great. I'm glad to leave this place." Francis said.

"Hey, cheer up guys. I got a good feeling about this." Louis said.

"If I recall correctly, there's an alley out back that we can use to get back on the street." Zoey said.

"Alright. Let's do it." Francis said, reloading his shotgun. They jump down the hole, but not before Zoey grabbed a strange device in a closet.

"Hey, found a pipe bomb!" Zoey said.

"Nice, that'll give those freaks a nasty punch." Francis said.

"Okay. Now where's the exit-" Louis wondered, a zombie breaking through a wall, Yang taking it out instantly.

"Well, he was nice enough to open the door." Yang said, showing the exit through the hole.

"That made our job a little easier." Louis said. "Hey, another pistol. Ruby, here. You'd better hang on to it."

"Thanks Louis." Ruby said, taking the pistol. They then got outside, but it wasn't fresh air that one would exactly want. It still reeked of death and sickness, a deadly one at that.

"Follow the alley. It'll surely take us out to the street." Ruby said.

"Right. But there'll be zombies through the entire way." Weiss said.

"Ah, nothing we haven't seen." Yang said, pumping her shotgun and blasting a zombie that was running for them. They fired their way through and looked so runs the alley, Blake finding a small warehouse. Inside was a Molotov and some pills, which she took. Going back out and moving on, they came to a wrecked car, which had some pistols on the hood. Yang and Weiss took one and Zoey took the last one, since she lost her other one.

"Alright, now we're in business." Zoey smirked, cocking her new pistol.

"There doesn't seem to be any zombies out here. Let's keep moving and get to the subway." Bill said. They made a little detour through a building, Weiss, Louis, and Francis loading up on some pain pills and Bill taking a pipe bomb.

"I'd rather a grenade, but this'll do." Bill said.

"Maybe we'll find a zombie army man with a frag grenade." Francis said, patting Bill's shoulder. They exited the building on the other side, continuing to the safe house. But as they went, a zombie rushed toward them.

"I got him." Ruby said.

"Wait, don't-!" Bill tried to say, but it already happened, Ruby's shotgun firing and killing the zombie. But at the same time, since the zombie was in front of a car, it activated the car alarm. "...shoot it."

"Uh, oops." Ruby said.

"Oh, hell. Get to the safe house. Now!" Zoey yelled.

"Yeah, I'm with her!" Francis exclaimed, everyone running for the safe house. And behind them roared the countless undead, screaming bloody murder as they chased the survivors underground, Louis occasionally turning around and shooting a few of them before going back into a sprint.

"There it is! Come on!" Ruby yelled, opening the door. Then after her came Yang, Bill, Zoey, Weiss, Blake, Bill, and Francis. Then Louis remained, shooting the zombies behind them. "Louis! Hurry!" Ruby shouted. Then his clip went dry, forcing him to run into the safe house. And as soon as he came in, Ruby slammed the door shut.

"That door won't hold them long. Barricade it and get some rest. We shouldn't stay here longer than we have to." Bill said. A few people then got to barricading the door, getting around to resting once it seemed sealed enough.

"Why in the hell would you have shot the car?" Francis half asked, half yelled at Ruby.

"I didn't see the car there, alright? I was focused on killing the zombies, like you wanted me to, and I didn't see the car." Ruby said.

"Rookie mistake. Happens to the best of us, kid." Bill said.

"Just try to look out for cars in the future, alright?" Zoey said, Ruby nodding.

"So are you really sure this subway line will lead us straight to the hospital?" Weiss asked.

"If it doesn't we're going to have a really big detour." Bill said.

"And what if we end up going into a dead end? What then?" Francis asked.

"We retrace our steps, get back up here, and then..." Bill said.

"Then what? Did you forget there's a stampede of vampires out there?" Francis asked.

"Fercrissake, they're zombies, Francis!" Bill snapped.

"Alright, gramps. Don't have a heart attack." Francis sighed.

"Anyway, we can probably find a few better weapons down in the subway, if the army went through there. And I'm willing to bet they did." Bill said.

"Not a really big fan of the army." Blake said.

"Same here, sister." Francis said.

"But if they have better weapons, it's worth our while to check." Louis said.

"And what says they won't shoot us on the spot?" Francis said.

"Come on, Francis. I got a good feeling about this." Louis said.

"I hope you aren't mistaking that feeling." Blake said.

"We shouldn't stay here much longer. No doubt those zombies will get through our barricade soon." Ruby said.

"Yeah, I'm with her. The sooner we get to Mercy Hospital, the better." Zoey said.

"I agree. Alright, load up and heal up. This journey is far from over." Bill said. Everyone then went around, patching themselves and restocking on ammo before lifting the bar on the door and heading out, Weiss taking out a zombie on the left while Blake used her pistol to take out another three, reloading her pistol.

"Woah. Big hole." Ruby said.

"Just out luck. That leads straight to the subway." Bill said.

"Alright, looks like Lady Luck is on our side today, team." Yang said.

"I wouldn't call it luck. If the inside is caved in, then there's no telling what paths are either revealed or blocked down there." Blake said.

"She has a point. How do we navigate our way down there, anyway?" Weiss asked.

"We keep heading where the path goes. Here, you four might wanna take these." Bill said, giving the huntresses flashlights. "No telling how dark it'll be down there, so you may as well take those."

"Alright, let's go." Ruby said, shooting a zombie underneath them as they jumped down, opening fire in the little cave underneath them. Once they all were dead, they went down the stairs to find the entrance to the subway, ruined and crippled like everything else.

"This is really the end of civilization. If this is all that's left of humanity's works, a once great city, then what else will we find in the rest of the world?" Blake said.

"For now, let's focus on getting out of here. Anywhere shouldn't be any worse than here." Bill said.

"You're not wrong there." Zoey said.

"Hey! Weapons over here!" Louis exclaimed, showing a hunter sniper rifle. Ruby was the first to take one.

"Oh yeah. This is more like it." Ruby said.

"I take it you're a sniper?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, more or less." Ruby said.

"So I guess we can confirm that the army was here?" Yang said.

"If it was a G3 sniper, that'd be a definite. It could've just been that some scavengers came around here. Stay alert." Bill said. They then went through the gate and come to the actual subway, and it was in a wreck. Subway cars were crashed into each other, fires everywhere, and the tunnel half collapsed.

"Oh my God." Weiss said in shock.

"There are places just like this around the world. When the outbreak first started, I saw multiple train cars overturned with zombies all over the place." Zoey said.

"Must be pretty peaceful, being a hermit." Francis said.

"Heh, yeah, a bit." Ruby said.

"We can still go through the subway cars. I'll bet we can walk our way to Mercy through here." Bill said. They went through the car and shot a few zombies in the way. They then heard a gurgling noise and they all stopped. They then saw a very, very fat zombie in front of them.

"Boomer." Francis whispered.

"Boomer?" Ruby asked silently.

"That thing will vomit on any survivors and attract hundreds of zombies. And it was found out that the virus also spreads through vomit, so that thing played quite a big part in the virus spreading so damn fast." Bill explained silently. Then the Boomer walked away, never to be seen again.

"That was close. We'd better get going before more of them arrive." Blake said.

"Affirmative." Bill said, the team climbing up and over the car to find some ammo and guns. From what they saw, there was only an M16 and another M1911. Bill took the M16 while Yang took the M1911. "An assault rifle. This is getting more like 'Nam every day."

"Guess you're a war veteran?" Yang asked, putting her pistols back.

"Yeah, but even that wasn't enough to prepare me for this." Bill said.

"Yeah, guess they don't teach zombie survival tactics in boot camp." Yang said.

"Hey, there's a slightly less wrecked train car over here!" Francis said.

"Is the door open?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. Do we follow it?" Francis asked.

"Follow it, of course!" Zoey said, everyone going through the car, but then they heard a sound that made the survivors(minus team RWBY) freeze.

"Shit." Louis cursed.

"What? What's wrong?" Yang asked.

"Witch. You hear that sobbing?" Louis said. The team listened, and they heard a woman crying.

"Yeah. Is there someone else down here?" Ruby asked.

"If by someone you mean a vicious, blood thirsty, merciless demon that'll tear you to shreds with her own two hands, then yes." Francis said.

"Oh. Way to bring that visual in." Yang said.

"You want a more graphic scenario?" Francis asked.

"No thanks, I'm good." Ruby said quickly. They got to the end, and there they could see her. The Witch, as they called her.

"Flashlights off! They'll just startle her even more." Bill whispered, the group all turning their lights off. All they could see of the witch was her blood red eyes glowing in the dark.

"It's almost like a Grimm. But less... bone-y." Yang said.

"Grimm?" Louis asked.

"It's, uh.." Yang said, trying to come up with a white lie.

"It's just a little story we hermits learn about. Not real, of course, but just a fairy tale. Still is terrifying, of course." Ruby said.

"Right. Maybe indulge us later when we're a good few miles away from the witch." Francis said.

"Oh, right. So, how do we get past her?" Ruby asked.

"We sneak past. Quick and quiet." Bill said. And then, one by one, they snuck past the witch, careful not to make a noise but breathing, which was barely heard over the witch's sobbing. Eventually, they all got past, and and closed the door behind them, leaving that nightmare behind them. "Alright, in case you didn't see past the witch, the subway's blocked off. We're going to have to find another path."

"Great. Wonderful. Is there another subway entrance past here?" Yang asked.

"Yes, but it'd be faster if we just went straight to Mercy Hospital." Bill said.

"Well, time is of the essence, so let's get to the details after we get to a safe area." Weiss said.

"Agreed. Come on, up the stairs." Bill said, and everyone went up, and opening fire in the room above. After it was cleared out, they went on, picking up anything useful, which added up to some pills and a pistol given to Ruby.

Once they made it to the next floor, they saw a generator room, also filled with zombies, which they shot. "Generators. Lucky for us, they're offline." Francis said.

"Wait, hold on." Ruby said, observing the generators. She then looked at the other side of the room, which was shut off by a large metal door. And the worst part was it was electricity powered. And the only source of electricity around was the generators. "Guys, bad news. We're gonna have to start up the generators to get through here."

"That'll surely give us hell." Francis said.

"In good news, we got some heavy weapons here!" Yang said, showing a mini gun.

"Oh, hell yeah! That'll send em to kingdom come!" Francis laughed.

"I still got a bad feeling about this. Get ready for a big fight." Bill said.

"Hey, look. I guess the police were here." Blake said, showing a police baton.

"Might not be a bad idea to keep a close range weapon on us." Bill said.

"I already have Gambol Shroud. Here, Louis. You might need this." Blake said, giving the baton to Louis.

"Thanks Blake." Louis said.

"Alright, we ready for this?" Ruby asked.

"Whenever you are." Yang said, taking the mini gun.

"Right. Starting the generators!" Ruby said, starting up the generators. The lights were brought back to life, as well as the machinery. But unfortunately, it cause a bit of noise, and the zombie hordes came running for them.

"Come get some!" Yang laughed, firing the mini gun. Flesh was separated from bone as the bullets flew, brains and guts being sent flying. But some zombies managed to escape the slaughter, but were quickly killed by the others. They fired their weapons, Ruby sniping the zombies that were out of the range of the mini gun. And speaking of the mini gun, it just then ran out of ammo. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding! I was just having fun!" Yang said, taking out her shotgun and shooting a zombie in front of her.

Louis then noticed a few zombies coming from a hole in the ground. He pulled out his baton and batted them down. "And stay down!" Louis exclaimed, mashing a zombie's brains onto the wall. The door was then opened enough for them to get through, but just then they heard a familiar screech.

"HUNTER!" Zoey shouted, but the warning was too late as the Hunter pounced Yang, digging its claws into her skin, but her aura managed to block most of the slashes. It was enough time for Francis to blast the Hunter off of her, but she still had some wounds. One slash pierced her aura and grazed her rib.

"Oh shit. We need to get outta here, quick!" Francis yelled.

"Augh. Son of a bitch got me pretty good." Yang grunted as she clutched her bloody side.

"You alright to walk?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, I can walk." Yang said, getting up.

"I'll help her. Come on Yang, we're not gonna let you die here." Blake said, taking Yang's other arm and helping her walk. They carved a way through the zombies and got to the upper floor, finally shutting the door and blocking it with a weapons cabinet. They set Yang down on a bench and looked at the wound.

"Oh God, that's a lotta blood lost. Watch the other door, make sure nothing interrupts. This needs immediate care." Bill said. Francis, Zoey, Weiss and Blake took the door as Louis, Ruby and Bill tended to Yang. "You feel anything?"

"Yeah, hurts like hell. Damn Hunter took me by surprise." Yang said, her breathing starting to become a little heavy.

"Alright, just, heavy breaths. Try to stay with us. I'm gonna patch up the wound. This'll hurt like the dickens, but you'll most likely survive." Bill said. He took out his first aid kit and started using gauze and alcohol to cover the wound after he made sure it was clean, Yang starting to grunt with pain.

"I can... I can take this." Yang gasped. "I've experienced- GAH! Worse."

"We need to watch out for those hunters. Surprising that you actually managed to take that many hits and only come out with a scratch like that." Bill said.

"Thick skin, what can I say?" Yang said, not wanting to tell them about their aura.

"I'd imagine. You'd have to have leather skin to take that many hits. Alright, just gotta... there. That should hold you for now." Bill said. Louis and Ruby then helped Yang up, Yang still clutching her side. They continued through the building to see Weiss and Francis looking outside.

"Shh! Stay quiet." Zoey whispered. They slowly went to the window to see the helicopter coming around.

"To anyone who can hear this: proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation! Repeat: proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation!" The pilot shouted. And just like that, he left again.

"Oh good, at least we still have time. Perhaps other survivors are at Mercy Hospital." Weiss said.

"That'd be a godsend." Blake said.

"It'd be a godsend if we even get there by this point. We already have two wounded." Francis said.

"The longer we stay here, the sooner those flesh addicts are gonna get us. So we'd better get moving." Bill said.

"Right. There's a staircase just down the hall." Zoey said. They then went down the staircase and into the lobby of the building. The streets were somewhat abandoned, as they heard car alarms over the city in the dark quiet of their area. They then looked down the street and saw a pawn shop with the safe house symbol on it.

"There's a safe house in the pawn shop!" Ruby exclaimed, everyone going as fast as they could toward the pawn shop, Ruby being first and getting it open. The others got in, one by one, last being Louis and Yang. Ruby then shut the door behind them.

"Alright, looks like we're all here. Get some rest, and stock up for the next hell." Bill said.

And there they set Yang down on the couch to rest up, while they all found places to sit and rest for a half an hour after they barricaded the door.

A/N

Hey guys and girls! Happy holidays! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm actually quite surprised you guys enjoyed the last chapter that much. Now then, I'm probably guessing you guys are already guessing a few references in this chapter. If you'd like to guess, please leave a review or PM me your guess, as well as follow and favorite this story so you don't miss out on any future updates or chapters(just a suggestion, you don't have to), and I'll be seeing you in the next chapter.

Also, if you have any ideas for better title names, I'm all ears. I kinda suck at them. I'll be sure to give credit where it is due.


	3. Chapter 3: Mercy

Chapter 3: Mercy

As the survivors finally got assorted, as well as giving Yang proper medical attention, like replacing the bandages and disinfecting the wound. But they weren't sure it would last.

"I'm about ninety percent certain she'll turn on us." Francis said.

"What are you talking about? Yang would never betray us in her sane mind!" Weiss said.

"No, I know she'd never attack us in her mental state. But what he means is, she might become one of the infected." Bill said.

"You mean... she could become..." Ruby gasped, Bill nodding.

"I vote we put her down before she has to suffer." Francis said.

"No! No way in hell we'd ever let anyone kill Yang!" Weiss barked.

"But think about it. We may have gotten lucky with Louis being immune, but what're the chances of two of us being immune?" Francis said.

"But that gives you no position to kill her! She's a human too, with emotions and a soul!" Blake yelled.

"And that's why I want to do it. So she doesn't have to suffer. It'll be right in the back of the head, she won't feel a thing." Francis said.

"No! Francis, if you want to kill Yang, you're going to have to kill me first!" Ruby barked.

"And me!" Weiss and Blake said.

"Francis, the virus spreads quickly. If she wasn't immune, she's have turned by now." Bill said.

"Yeah, it wouldn't make sense for her to still be human right now." Zoey said. "And this is coming from a girl who's seen a ton of zombie movies."

Francis still held his shotgun, thinking about the situation. "Hmm... alright, fine. But just know that if she starts to rip your flesh apart, don't say I didn't warn you." Francis said, lowering his gun.

"Thank you. Now, can we get moving?" Weiss said. But then, outside, they heard gunfire.

"Gunshots. It seems like there are more survivors." Blake said.

"Great, now we at least know we won't die in this hell hole alone." Francis said.

"Will you just shut up for a minute?" Weiss snapped.

"Alright. Now then, I've been looking at some maps, and it seems like that we can take the sewers to Mercy. It's a bit of a trek, but it's our best bet to get there safely." Bill said.

"Sounds good to me. Aside from the sewer part." Louis said.

"Yeah, not a big fan of that." Weiss said.

"What? Scared of getting that fancy white dress filthy?" Yang chuckled.

"First off, it's already filthy enough. Second, no, I'm just not a fan of the stench." Weiss said.

"Yeah, sure." Yang laughed.

"Let's just get going." Bill sighed. They then exited the safe room, heading down the alley. They then went inside a restaurant, which was filled with infected. They quickly took them out and made for outside, where the gunfire seemed to be a bit louder.

"It's getting louder. And it seems to be drawing the infected away. Good for us, I guess." Zoey said.

"And that means there's others headed to Mercy. Hopefully they aren't psychopaths." Blake said.

"Alright... If we're where I think we are, we can get to the sewer system through that building. The problem is getting in." Bill said.

"That's always the problem, isn't it?" Yang said.

"Hey, there's a lift over there." Francis said, pointing to a lowered lift.

"Sweet. We can ride it up to the roof, get through that window, and make our way to the sewers." Ruby said.

"And make our way through the sewers and into Mercy Hospital. Alright, I'm liking this." Zoey said.

"Maybe life is turning to our side now." Yang said.

"That's remains to be seen. We still got a ways to go. Don't forget not only do we have to cross a most likely zombie infested sewer, but also climb a more likely zombie infested hospital just to escape this god forsaken place." Weiss said.

"Little ray of sunshine, you are." Ruby sighed.

"Just saying the truth." Weiss shrugged.

"She is right. We have a long ways to go before we make it out of here." Blake said.

"First thing's first. We need to get up to that roof. To the lift." Bill said.

They then made their way to the lift, climbing on to it and Zoey pressing the button. The lift then started, going up.

"So far so good." Louis said, but then they heard the infected hordes roaring, and thousands of footsteps heading in their direction.

"Son of a bitch. Here they come!" Francis cursed, using his pistol to blast three zombies down. They then got up to the rooftop and ran like crazy, all the while firing at the zombie horde. Then a Smoker appeared and tried to grab Yang, but instantly regretted that decision as she grabbed its tongue, pulling it toward her and then activating Ember Celica and blasting it in its face, creating a cloud of smoke.

"Ugh, jeez, that putrid." Yang coughed.

"Keep running! Through the window!" Ruby yelled, blasting the window open. One by one they climbed through, Ruby holding off the zombies. They then came to a hole with a ton of zombie at the bottom.

"I got this. Fire in the hole!" Blake yelled, tossing her Molotov into the hole, burning the zombies alive, all of them letting out a screech of pure agony, if their other screeches weren't nightmare fueling enough. Once the flames died down, they jumped down, but the zombies kept coming, as if they'd never stop.

"We gotta go! Grab whatever you can find as quick as you can and get going!" Ruby exclaimed, everyone jumping down the hole. They then quickly took some supplies, which included some pills, an auto shotgun for Francis, some pistols for everyone who needed them, and a katana.

"Hey, Zoey, you know how to use a katana?" Weiss asked.

"Sort of." Zoey said.

"Here. Have fun." Weiss said, handing her the sword.

"Oh, man. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this." Zoey laughed, decapitating a zombie behind her.

"Alright, now fucking run!" Francis yelled, everyone running for their lives. They went down some stairs and into the warehouse, running past rows upon rows of crates. Then, they heard a familiar roaring.

"Oh, come on! Of all times for a tank to appear!" Yang yelled.

"If you weren't running before, do it now!" Bill shouted, and everyone picked up the pace, the monster called the Tank running for them like an ape. It picked up a crate from the shelves and threw it at them, narrowly missing them. It then hit a forklift in their direction, just missing Louis as he ran through the door. Unfortunately, the forklift didn't fully block the door, and the Tano pursued them down the halls.

"This is not how I thought today would go." Weiss grunted, firing at the Tank. "Are bullets even going to effect that thing?!"

"Not sure, don't care, RUN!" Yang yelled. They went down the stairs at the end of the brick hall, the stench of sewer starting to fill their nostrils. They then came to a propane room with a manhole in the back.

"There! In the sewers!" Bill exclaimed, running to the manhole and lifting it for everyone to jump in. After Ruby went in, he jumped down and shut the manhole as he went in. And the Tank lost them, and they knew that if he could speak English, he'd be cursing a blue streak.

"Hah... hah... hah... I can't believe we actually got out of there." Zoey panted.

"We got lucky. Let's not get cocky." Francis said.

"Cmon, stay positive guys. We're close now, we can't give up." Louis said.

"He's right. Cmon, through the sewer." Bill said.

"Aaaaand you're SURE there's no other way." Weiss said.

"Unless you want to go back up there and get mashed into flesh gravy by that Tank, then no." Bill said.

"Alright, fine. Let's go." Weiss sighed, everyone jumping down into the sewer, which was eerily quiet. And no one was happy about this silence.

"This isn't right. There should be hundreds down here." Bill sneered.

"There are. Look." Yang said, shining her light on a pile of zombie bodies, all riddled with bullets. Some with knife marks.

"Someone's been down here. We weren't the first." Ruby said.

"Maybe they're friendly." Louis said.

"How I'd like to believe that." Bill sighed. They then traversed the sewers, going into a small room with another tunnel and a few weapons scattered around. The weapons included two M16s, a Spas shotgun, a scoped G3, and a SCAR-L.

"Oh, now this is more like it. I call the G3." Ruby said.

"An M16. Always a good fall to." Blake smiled, taking the rifle. Yang took the Spas while Louis took the SCAR. And for the other M16, Weiss took it while Zoey took the hunting rifle Ruby used.

"I'm not bad with a rifle. My dad actually gave me one like this before... yeah." Zoey said.

"We'll be sure to set things right. I promise." Ruby said.

"Yeah. I hope so." Zoey sighed.

"Alright, now where does this tunnel lead to?" Blake wondered, looking down the small tunnel.

"Only one way to find out." Yang said.

"My tactic is to always hold your hand to the right wall. If you ever get lost, just follow the tunnel back with your left hand, you'll always get back." Zoey said.

"Classic maze tactic." Ruby said.

"Alright, lead the way Zoey." Weiss said, letting Zoey take the lead. They crept their way through the tunnel and into a larger tunnel with a safe house symbol next to a ladder.

"There! That ladder! Haha, we're almost out of here!" Louis cheered.

"At long last." Bill sighed. They ran to the ladder and went up one after one. And above they saw their objective: Mercy Hospital.

"Hey, I told you I'd get you out of here!" Francis laughed.

"Well, you did keep your promise. But now we gotta get to the... top." Ruby said.

"I really hope the elevator still works." Bill said. They then went inside, but they were still concerned with the off putting lack of zombies around.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Weiss said.

When they got into the safe room, they were met with several gun barrels aiming at their face.

"Well, not like I'm not used to this." Francis sighed.

"Drop your weapons now!" One of the men yelled.

"Alright! Just... stop pointing those at us, seriously. I mean, gosh, you guys have no idea how to greet people." Yang said.

"It's a fucking safety precaution. Not everyone in this world is sane, you know." The man said.

"If we drop our guns, will you stop pointing those at us?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, for the love of- sure." The man sighed. The survivors then slowly dropped their weapons as the others lowered theirs.

"So what's your name? Just to show we have good intents." Blake asked.

"I'm Dempsey. And this is Red, Sam, and Craig. We have more, but they're up at the elevator on floor four." Dempsey said.

"And I take it you're the leader?" Bill asked.

"Yup. Mainly because I led everyone here. I also gave us all these supplies. I'm ex-military, FYI." Dempsey said.

"Ditto." Bill said.

"So I take it you eight are also here for evacuation, right?" Dempsey asked.

"Yeah, that's right. How much of the hospital have you secured?" Ruby asked.

"Up to level four. That's where the elevator is. You all are lucky, as well. We pretty much just got the power grid back up." Red said.

"But won't that just attract more zombies?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah, it did. That gunfire you heard before? That was us fighting off those buggers." Craig said.

"I see. That explains why the journey here was so easy." Blake said.

"So have you guys made contact with the helicopter pilot yet?" Louis asked.

"Not yet. We're working on it, though. The radio signal is all kinds of fucked up." Dempsey said.

"That sucks. Maybe radio tower is down?" Yang said.

"We already got it back up. It's just that the helicopter pilot's signal is very weak. We think he may be extracting other survivors on the other side of the city." Sam said.

"Hope so. It's nice to know we're not the last humans left on earth." Louis said.

"You got that right. Cmon, we'll take you to our main base." Dempsey said, leading the eight survivors inside the hospital. Inside was all kinda of medical supplies, like empty blood bags(mostly spilled), syringes, bandaids, and all kinds of other stuff. The survivors assumed the others just took what was good and left the other stuff for emergencies. They walked up a flight of stairs and into a large room, which had pools of zombie blood here and there. And also another substance that seemed to boil.

"What the heck is that?" Ruby asked, pointing to the strange substance.

"Ugh, more residue. That's acid from a new mutation in the zombies. We call it a Spitter. That substance you see there? It spits that at you, can melt the flesh off your bones in seconds." Dempsey said.

"Oh, that's... just- just wonderful." Yang said.

"We're trying to turn that substance into a grenade to use against those bastards. It'll make quick work of those guys, especially the Tanks." Dempsey said.

"Oh, that's awesome." Ruby said. "I like this guy."

They then proceeded to the third and forth floors, where they started to meet a few survivors. They met four other men, named Fred, Marcus, Ben, and Barry, and a woman named Martha, who was fortunately a doctor.

"I can see one of you is injured. Allow me to see what the damage is." Martha said.

"You're the doctor here." Yang shrugged, following Martha into a room. The others then came to a room, which was stocked with weapons of all types.

"Oh, you've been stocking up." Zoey hummed.

"We have all you need. Full automatics, sub machine guns, shotguns, rifles, light machine guns, and more than enough grenades." Dempsey said.

"Though, I don't see many people here armed." Bill said, slightly concerned.

"We have all our weapons here, aside from the ones our guards use. We don't want one of us going mad with a shotgun." Dempsey said.

"True. That'd be the last thing I'd want in a hospital. And in a zombie apocalypse no less." Weiss said.

"And for rest, I'm afraid we only have medical beds. Better than nothing, though." Dempsey said.

"It's more than enough for us." Ruby chucked. "Thanks for the help, Dempsey."

"Ah, it's no trouble. Always happy to help survivors." Dempsey laughed.

"I dunno about you guys, but I could use some rest after running from that Tank." Francis said.

"Wait, you guys escaped a Tank?" Dempsey asked.

"Yeah. We were being chased by him in the warehouse, but lost him when we went into the sewer." Ruby said.

"Wait, you mean he's still inside the sewers?" Dempsey asked, starting to panic.

"Uh, no, we went inside the sewers and upon entering the sewers and closing the manhole, the Tank lost us." Louis said.

"But that's still a problem. You didn't lose him. You never lose a Tank." Dempsey said. And then, they heard a pounding sound, along with a small tremor.

"Dempsey! A Tank is entering the hospital, along with a ton of zombies! Our perimeter guards can't hold them all!" Fred exclaimed.

"Son of a bitch. Alright, it's not your faults. You didn't know about their nature. But now, the lives of everyone in this building is in danger. Take whatever you need and meet me on the second floor!" Dempsey said, running off downstairs. They then armed themselves with weapons, Ruby, Francis, and Zoey taking Spas shotguns, Bill taking an M16, along with Weiss and Blake, and Louis took a SCAR-L, along with an auto shotgun for Yang. They then ran down with Yang to defend Mercy hospital from the zombies.

A/N

Merry Christmas everyone! I made this to kill some time, and so why not give you guys a nice Christmas gift of a new chapter of this story! So yeah, I brought in some other survivors, but instead of making them enemies, I made them somewhat neutral. But still, I have to give credit to Boriva for suggesting this. I was thinking of putting it in, and finally decided to insert it into the story.

P.S., this was originally finished on December 23, but I wanted to make you guys wait. :3


	4. Chapter 4: No Mercy

Chapter 4: No Mercy

As the eight survivors dashed down to the second floor, they saw half the other survivors holding the door and the other half pointing their guns at the door.

"See what fucking happens when you don't finish the job?! Now you've doomed us all!" Red shouted.

"Red, shut up! You can yell at them all you want after we get out of here!" Dempsey snarled.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'll make sure we make it out alive." Yang said.

"It's not us I'm worried about." Ruby said.

"Shit! Tank's here!" Marcus exclaimed, and the door burst wide open, hundreds of zombies pouring through, but they didn't make it very far as they were mowed down by the survivors. Zoey pulled out her katana and hacked through tens of zombies, but then the Tank came through, forcing the survivors to retreat. And that gave the infected horde the push they needed, rushing toward the survivors.

"Damn! We need to pull back! Get to the elevator ASAP!" Dempsey yelled, everyone running back upstairs. But Red, Marcus, and Martha were caught by the infected, and their suffering was ended fairly quickly as the walls became red with their blood.

"Oh god." Ruby gasped.

"Keep running! Before we lose any more!" Dempsey yelled. They then ran to the forth floor, in addition losing Barry, Ben, and Fred, Barry being taken by a Smoker.

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening." Craig panicked.

"Keep running! The elevator is- GAH!" Sam exclaimed, being pounced on by a Hunter, and his chest was ripped open. "RUN! JUST RUN!" Was the last thing he said as the Hunter dissected him. Ruby quickly shot the Hunter, but it was too late.

"He's gone. It's just us now. Keep running!" Dempsey shouted, and they continued to run. "The elevator should be down, hurry!"

"Ugh! Gah! Smoker-" Craig exclaimed, but the tongue wrapped around his mouth, but they could still hear his blood curdling screams as he was dragged away. And at that moment, team RWBY had never felt more hopeless.

"Eight people... slaughtered in such a short time..." Weiss gasped.

"Let's not make it nine! Ru-" Dempsey said, but a zombie popped out of nowhere and bit his neck.

"Dempsey!" Ruby exclaimed, shoving the zombie off him and shooting it. Yang and Francis held the door shut as they dragged Dempsey away. But they all knew he was finished.

"Ugh. Ack. Heh, bastard took me by surprise." Dempsey coughed.

"Don't worry. We'll bandage you up, and-" Ruby said, but Bill put his hand on her shoulder. "What are you-" Ruby then looked at his eyes, and she read his mind. "No. No, we can't!"

"It's too late. One zombie bite can spread like a plague. It's already in his veins." Bill said.

"No! I'm not letting him die! We can save him! We have to save him!" Ruby yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"Ruby... ack. We all have our... limitations. Just at first glance, I knew you were different than most humans. Your eyes... even bloodshot, I can still see the soul of a warrior. And that's why you have to live. I know it's hard, believe me, I've seen my fair share of good people die. But we all die sometime. Keep... going... for your... good old... Dempsey..." Dempsey said, and his breathing stopped.

"No! No, please! Come back!" Ruby cried, and she sobbed on his chest as Bill took off his hat. But then, the Tank broke through the door. And at that moment, Ruby's sorrow turned into rage at the Tank. "You... You should've stayed back in the sewers!" Ruby yelled, pulling out Crescent Rose as her eyes seemed to glow bright silver. She then swung it around and sent the Tank flying back. "Go! Get to the elevator!"

"Ruby, you can't-" Bill said.

"I said GO!" Ruby shouted, and that got them moving. Ruby then swung Crescent Rose and took out ten zombies in one swing. And she kept it spinning like a fan, the zombies foolishly charging into the blade. But then a zombie behind her snarled. It was Dempsey. But a bullet pierced his skull before he could get Ruby.

"Ruby, come on! You've done enough!" Yang shouted. Ruby's eyes returned to normal and she ran to the elevator, Francis pushing the button as soon as she and Yang got in.

"I can't believe we actually made it through that." Louis said.

"But... they all died. They all died because of us." Ruby said.

"It wasn't your fault. We didn't know that the Tank would follow us here." Zoey said.

"But... I just... I've never seen another human being die before. I mean, zombies are different. They're already dead, right? But... another living human... I didn't even know him, and yet..." Ruby said, tears dripping to the ground.

"Look kid, even being in a war doesn't prepare you for this. They never stop. They... come at you, and come at you, and they never goddamn stop." Bill said.

"Doesn't make it any better." Ruby said.

"If we make it out of here, they didn't die for nothing." Blake said.

"And besides, you did a damn number on that Tank. Nothing I expected from some hermits." Francis said.

"Uh, yeah..." Blake said.

They then reached the twenty-eighth floor, which was two floors under their final destination.

"Oh no. We went two floors under." Zoey sighed.

"No problem, we can just-" Francis said, but then the elevator shook a bit.

"Everyone. Get out. Of the elevator." Bill said. And then the elevator went down a slight bit.

"Yeah, out now!" Yang exclaimed, and everyone jumped out the elevator as it dropped down the shaft.

"That was too close." Zoey gasped.

"Looks like we're taking the long way." Francis sighed. They all recovered from the shock and pressed on, shooting a few infected off the building. They then realized how high up they are.

"I know this doesn't need saying, but for God's sake, don't fall off." Yang said.

"Yeah, I'm with Yang." Zoey said. They moved on, maneuvering through bars and construction pieces. Soon, they got away from the edge of the building and found traces of a safe house, and swiftly got inside. But no praise was made there, for they had lost many good people just now. And team RWBY was still recovering from the events. Even the survivors were under shock.

"I didn't even get to know him." Ruby said.

"Look, we appreciated Dempsey as much as you did, Ruby. But this is a time of death. If we don't survive this, it's game over. But right now, we are a team. If one of us goes down, we don't move on until they are safe and sound. From now on, I promise you that." Zoey said.

"Zoey's right. I'm not letting one more person die today. Not on my watch." Bill said.

"I don't mean to interrupt the heart breaking talk, but I'm sure that Tank is wanting a bit of payback. We should get going before it gets a chance." Francis said.

"He does have a point." Louis said.

"Alright. We'll get loaded up and we'll contact the chopper. But what happens then?" Weiss asked.

"We'll see when it happens." Bill said. They then loaded up on ammo, a few of them getting some pipe bombs or molotovs. After that, they patched themselves up with what they had and hurried through the door. They shot some infected clogging up the stairs and went through the corridor leading up. They shot any infected in sight and went left, where they saw another elevator shaft. But it led to a deep dark abyss, and they didn't want to know how far down it went.

"Through the vent!" Yang said, punching the vent cover open. They crawled through one by one and went around the shaft, going up the ladder and the other one just above it. And then, they were at the roof, the wind slamming into them with great force. But not enough to toss them off the roof.

"There's the helicopter pad! We made it!" Zoey exclaimed.

"See? I told you guys I'd get us outta here." Francis said.

"We actually made it. Finally." Yang said.

"Clear the area. If we can get a strong hold on the roof, we'll have a better chance to set up properly." Bill said. They the went about clearing the roof of the infected. Once they seemed to have cleared the roof, they went into the building on the center, where inside was a gun cabinet, health kits, and ammo.

"News Chopper 5 to Mercy Hospital. Come in, over." The radio said.

"We read you loud and clear." Blake said.

"You made it! All you need to do is hold out until I get there. But first, you need to prepare. There should be a mounted gun and other supplies to help you hold out. Call me back once you've prepared. News Chopper 5 out." The radio said.

"Alright, give us a minute or two." Blake said.

They then searched a bit more, and Francis and Yang found a few propane tanks and gas cans. "Hey, Jackpot, boys! Propane and gas!" Yang called out.

"Great, that'll give us the advantage in traps. Set a few of them in the center. If that Tank shows his face, we'll be ready." Ruby said. Yang and Francis then set up the propane and gas tanks around the center. Once it seemed good, they called the chopper.

"Alright, we're ready." Blake said.

"Okay, I'm on my way. ETA 15 minutes. Just hang in there! News Chopper 5 out." The pilot said.

"We've come through hell to get here, now we gotta fight one last time! Here they come!" Bill called out, the infected army charging for them. Yang took to the mounted mini gun and blasted them all into next week. Meanwhile, the other survivors took out any infected that Yang couldn't get in time.

"I've got your back, Yang!" Blake said, slashing a zombie right behind Yang in half.

"Thanks Blake!" Yang said over the gunfire. But soon, the numbers became greater.

"I'll provide sniper fire from above!" Ruby said, running over to the satellite. This was the highest point of Mercy Hospital, so Ruby used it to snipe the special infected.

"News Chopper 5 to Mercy Hospital. I'm going to be a bit late. I just had a... an incident. News Chopper 5 out." They heard the pilot say over the radio.

"Don't let your guard down for a second!" Francis shouted, blasting a zombie in the face with his shotgun. Zoey then pulled out her katana and sliced a zombie next to Louis in half, meanwhile the mini gun just then ran out of ammo.

"Great. Now the gun runs out." Yang sighed. She pulled out her shotgun and backed up Francis, while Blake went to the roof with Ruby to watch her back. And a fortunate thing too, as a Smoker was about to grab Ruby, but the tongue was stopped by Blake slicing it in half with Gambol Shroud. The Smoker howled in pain before Blake shot it, the Smoker erupting green smoke upon death. But then a Hunter flew up and nearly got Blake, but a single sniper round pierced its skull and sent it into the antenna.

"I got your back!" Ruby said, reloading her rifle.

"I guess that makes us even." Blake chuckled as she fired down the ladder, killing ten zombies. And after that, the zombies were scarce, divided. It seemed they had won this time.

"Well. That was exhilarating." Zoey sighed, brushing the sweat off her forehead. But Blake was the only one on alert.

"Shh!" Blake hushed, her bow twitching.

"Blake, what is it?" Ruby asked.

"Don't you hear that?" Blake asked. And the others listened. Through the savage winds, they heard it. Snarling.

"Tank." Bill said softly. And from the roof came a slab of rock that just fell short of them. And from the area came roaring, and they saw the Tank pounding his chest. But on his chest was still the bleeding cut he received from Ruby.

"Oh, come on! Now this ass hat decides to come out?!" Francis yelled.

"He's still wounded. We can probably finish him here." Yang said.

"Wait." Bill said. And the Tank ran for them. "Aim for the tanks." The others then aimed at the propane and gas tanks, and waited for Bill's signal. And as the Tank came down the ramp, he shouted "NOW!" and they shot the tanks, each one exploding, and the Tank walked right into the fire.

"All brawn, no brain." Yang laughed.

"That's why we have the advantage here. Now split!" Bill said, and everyone went in separate directions, Weiss charging straight for the Tank, who was now coming up the stairs. She created a wall of ice to stop the Tank for a bit, but he punched through it like it was nothing. Weiss then froze the Tank's fist into the ice wall, but it got out with no trouble.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Weiss sighed, stabbing Myrtenaster through the ice wall and into the Tank's chest. The Tank roared with pain as it punched through the wall and hit Weiss back in the chest, sending her off the rail.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed. She then unfolded Crescent Rose, and the Tank roared in rage at the mere sight of the weapon as he charged with amazing speed at Ruby. She tried to swing at the Tank, but it caught the weapon and sent her flying back. The Tank then threw Crescent Rose right at Ruby, and she was quick enough to just dodge the blade. She took Crescent Rose from the wall quickly and dodged the Tank's fist that collided straight into the wall. Yang then dashed for the Tank, and each threw a punch at the other, and their fists collided. Yang then sent a shotgun blast right into the Tank's knuckle, which made his right fist unusable as it was a red mush on the ground now.

The Tank roared with pain as it writhed on the ground in pain. But it quickly recovered and back handed Yang with its left hand, sending her almost off the edge of the building, but she was quick enough to grab the edge. Yang did her best not to look down. "Little help over here!" Yang called out. Ruby quickly ran over and helped her up.

"Come on, not gonna let you die now! Not when we're so close!" Ruby grunted, helping Yang up.

"Thanks sis." Yang said, then gasped. "Look out!" Yang then stepped in front of Ruby, body blocking a hit from the Tank. But her aura was low at that point, and the punch shattered it and sent the two flying into a wall. Ruby held up fine, but Yang was in severe pain.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed. But the Tank loomed over them, ready to deliver the final blow that'd kill Yang, but Weiss got in the way and stuck Myrtenaster through the Tank's heart, and the edge of the blade exited through the Tank's spine. The Tank gurgled on blood for a few seconds before it fell over stone dead. "Thanks Weiss. Help me with Yang. I think her aura couldn't hold up against the Tank."

"Oh no. Alright, hang in there Yang. We are not going to leave you for anything." Weiss said, wrapping Yang's other arm around her. They two carried Yang, and Francis and Louis met them at the ladder.

"Ruby! Weiss! Oh, what happened to Yang?" Louis asked.

"She took a hit to protect me. Help us get her up there." Ruby said. The two men nodded and grabbed Yang by the arms as Ruby and Weiss pushed her up by the feet. They got her up, and Ruby and Weiss followed, but Yang was unconscious, which was probably a good thing.

"She's not dead, but she has a lot of broken bones." Francis said. "And believe me, I KNOW what a broken bone feels like."

"But she'll live, right? Right?" Ruby asked.

"She'll live. Most likely. But not for long if we don't give her some medical treatment." Francis said. And just then, the helicopter flew overhead.

"The helicopter's here!" Zoey shouted.

"Hurry! Get Yang up and haul ass to the chopper!" Bill yelled. Ruby and Louis got Yang up and ran as fast as they could to the helicopter, and everyone got on once they were all there and closed the helicopter door. The pilot then took off, leaving Mercy Hospital for good. Once they were in the air, they set Yang down and let Bill look at her, since he was the best with medical treatment.

"Her bones are only fractured, nothing too bad, but she'll feel a ton of pain for a while." Bill said.

"Oh, thank God." Ruby sighed in relief, sitting back in her chair.

"But we should give her some pain pills once she gets up." Bill said.

"Here." Louis said, handing Bill his bottle of pills.

"At least we made it. I just wish we could've saved the others." Weiss said.

"We made sure their deaths weren't for nothing. We escaped this city, and we're on our way to safety." Blake said.

"It could be worse." Zoey shrugged. And as they left the city behind them, they could finally breathe in, knowing that they were on their way to safety.

A/N

So yeah, pretty short story. So let's just wrap this up with a- nah! Totally messing with you guys! No way in hell we're only doing No Mercy! There's still so much story to develop! So yeah, you probably know where we're going to start next chapter. Yeah. That map. So yeah, gonna be busy for a while. And also keep in mind that, if I don't update for a while, I'm most likely working on another story I haven't worked on in a while.


	5. Chapter 5: Crash Course

Chapter 5: Crash Course

When Ruby came too, she wished she hadn't, as the sight, and the pain, was unbearable to see(and feel). She lay feet away from the crashed helicopter, which was in an inferno. But thankfully, the others were nowhere near the fire or the crash, as they were tossed from the helicopter too before it burst into flames. Ruby then realized some of them may be in pain, and got up to see to them. Thankfully, Bill also came too and was also tending to them.

"Bill. Is, uh, is anyone..." Ruby asked, not wanting to ask it.

"Thankfully, no. Yang is still wounded a bit, but nothing too serious. Everyone else fortunately has minimal injuries from the crash. Thank God." Bill said, wiping his forehead.

"That's a relief." Ruby sighed.

"Ugh. Ow, my head." Zoey grunted, sitting up and clutching her forehead.

"Zoey! Are you okay?" Bill asked.

"Y-yeah. But my head hurts like hell." Zoey said.

"That's usual, considering that we just crash landed." Bill said. "Here, let me help." Bill then took some cloth and wrapped it around Zoey's forehead. Soon the others came too as well.

"Ooh man. I LOVE helicopters!" Francis said.

"Uh, what?" Louis said.

"Francis? Are you okay?" Zoey asked.

"Woah, I must've hit my head pretty hard. God, I hate helicopters." Francis growled.

"There we go." Ruby chuckled.

"Ugh. I've had worse nights." Yang grunted, clutching her chest.

"Alright, we'll get moving once we get Yang able to walk. Like I said back at Mercy Hospital, I am not letting anyone behind from here on." Bill said.

"Right. Thankfully, it looks like some of the supplies from the helicopter survived. Sadly, none of the weapons are unusable now." Ruby said, showing an M16 that was in horrid shape. Just a glance from it said it all.

"Yeah, no kidding. Well, thankfully we still got some medkits." Francis said.

"So good news: we have some medical supplies. Bad news: we only have a couple of pistols now." Yang summed up.

"Not exactly. While everyone was out, I managed to find a pump shotgun and an Uzi. Sadly, that's all." Bill said.

"We're in pretty bad shape right now, so let's not lick a gifted horse in the mouth." Weiss said.

"I agree with her. It could be a lot worse." Louis said.

"Oh really? Like how?" Francis asked.

"Well, we could have crashed as soon as we boarded." Louis said.

"Hrm... alright, I'll give you that one." Francis sighed.

"But then again, one of us could be dead." Ruby said.

"One of us is dead." Bill said, gesturing to the pilot, who was now a crisp in the wreckage.

"Yeah Zoey, why did you go and kill the freaking pilot?" Francis asked.

"He was a zombie, Francis! I was doing us a favor!" Zoey said.

"Yeah, whatever." Francis grunted.

"Okay, Yang. Can you walk now?" Bill said, finally finishing patching up Yang.

"Ugh. Y-yeah, but it kinda hurts." Yang grunted, getting up and clutching her side.

"If you can walk, that's good enough. We'll give you better medical attention in a more secluded area. We should be going right now. No doubt the infected will be coming for us soon." Bill said.

"Yeah, good point. Alright, get what you can and try to find a safe spot to hole up and rest. Perhaps we can wait until morning to travel and possibly find some mode of transportation." Ruby said.

"Yeah, I like that plan." Zoey said. They then got what they could carry, Francis taking the shotgun and Blake taking the Uzi, and they walked away from their fallen hope, and went to search for a new hope. As they observed, they seemed to have crashed in a storage garage area, as there were storage garages around every turn. And it seemed they were just on the edge, as the city was still visible opposite of where they were headed, and even there they could still see Mercy Hospital, and the big sign on top of it eventually flickered and faded, as did the entire city, as the power was now drained.

"We'd better find a safe warehouse soon." Francis grunted, seeing Yang starting to struggle to walk and assisting her by wrapping her right arm around him. "Cmon, I ain't givin' up on you yet. You're too badass to leave behind now."

"Well, that's about the nicest thing you've said today." Yang chuckled, coughing afterward.

"Don't waste your energy. Just keep walking and try to find a suitable warehouse. I don't want to be out here any longer than we have to." Bill grunted.

"Hey, look here! This one seems to be pretty stable!" Ruby said.

"Check inside for any infected." Blake said. Ruby nodded and pulled out her pistol, which reminded her to check on Crescent Rose. Thankfully, it was still on her, and in surprisingly good shape too.

'I shouldn't use too many bullets with her. I'm not sure if regular sniper rounds will work with Crescent.' Ruby thought, putting Crescent Rose into scythe form and going inside.

"I'll back her up." Weiss said, pulling out her pistol and going behind Ruby. From the sound, it was entirely empty, but they still wanted to make sure. Ruby pulled out her flashlight and looked around, but if there were any infected, they were already dead.

"I think we're clear." Ruby said.

"That's a first. Alright, I'll go tell them. Check some more, see if there's any more exits. Might be useful to have a fall back strategy." Weiss said, going back to the others as Ruby investigated the warehouse further. But there still remained no real threat. She even found some pills and a pipe bomb in the back, which she happily took.

"It's pretty lucky that we didn't run into any of the infected." Ruby said as the others came in.

"We shouldn't rely on luck all the time, though. Luck is a bitch sometimes and will often screw you over." Francis said.

"Ray of sunshine, you are." Zoey sighed.

"Still, have to agree it is lucky we didn't have any infected come after us." Yang said, Francis setting her down on a cardboard box. Then he and Blake closed the door and blockaded it.

Later that night, when everyone except Blake, who was doing night watch, was asleep, Ruby was having the worst dream of her life. It started out back in Vale, and her team seemed oblivious to what they just went through. Ruby was about to question it, but then a rift in the sky opened up, and the infected poured out and slaughtered the entire kingdom, and the hunters never stood a chance against the extreme number, and the kingdom fell in mere seconds. It was too fast for Ruby to even comprehend. But when she reached for Crescent Rose, she didn't feel it. It was gone. She then looked to her team, but they were gone.

"Blake? Weiss? Yang? Where are you guys?" Ruby called out, running all around Vale in search for them. But she finally found them, but they lay motionless. Dead. "No. No no no, this can't be happening!" Ruby cried, and then the Tank from Mercy charged through the building, but its skin was pitch black with bones coming out of it, and a plate of bones covering its chest like armor, as well as a skull plate of bones. Ruby knew that she had no weapon, and that it was all over, but as it attacked, it suddenly vanished. "W-what?"

"I have been watching you." A dark, echoing voice said. Ruby looked around, but saw no one. At least, no one alive.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked.

"Wake up, Ruby Rose! Wake up to the world around you! The darkness approaches, one that'll bring an apocalypse worse than this! If you want to survive, then do as I say-" the dark voice said, but then Ruby woke up.

"Your turn for night watch." Blake said silently.

"Oh, right." Ruby grunted, getting up from her bed. It wasn't really a bed, more of a pile of flattened cardboard boxes with a pillow half destroyed they found in one and a window curtain for her blanket. It wasn't much, but it served as a bed. Ruby then took out Crescent Rose and scanned the area, finding a strange shaded figure. Ruby then directed her aim at it, trying to find out what, or who, it was. From the looks, the person didn't seem infected. But just before she could narrow it down further, the person vanished. Literally vanished, as soon as Ruby blinked. 'Must be my imagination.' Ruby thought, and she scanned the area more, but nothing was around, not even near the crash site was there any infected.

"This is odd. There should at least be one zombie." Ruby whispered to herself. But she shrugged in the fact that she didn't have to do as much work. But even still, she couldn't get that voice out of her head. 'What did he mean by that? Another apocalypse? As if one wasn't bad enough.' Ruby thought.

[a few hours later]

Once the morning sun rose, everyone was awoken. "Alright, first thing's first. We need to find a way to get out of here, and add that with not dying, along with trying to find our way around." Bill said.

"So basically, find a good vehicle with nice armor and stuff around here and not die in the process. At least we'll have good sunlight to work with." Yang said. She had recovered a bit from yesterday, and now she could at least walk without any help.

"But that also gives the infected an advantage, so we shouldn't be too care free." Blake said.

"True. Still, better if we can see better too." Yang said.

"Can't argue there. Oh, I also found this in the back." Zoey said, pulling out a crowbar. "Never know when this might be useful. Here Francis, you'll put this to good use, I bet."

"Oh yeah, those zombie bastards are in for a beating now." Francis smirked, gladly taking the crowbar and trading it for his pistol.

"Alright, if we're ready to go, let's move it." Bill said.

"While I was on night watch, I saw a bridge not too far from here. Maybe we can investigate there." Ruby said.

"Sounds good to me." Louis said.

"Bridge for me, too." Yang said.

"There's the plan, then. We make to the bridge." Bill said. They then lifted the barricade from the door and exited the warehouse, leaving the base there for other survivors, if there were any left in the city. And even in the daylight, they could see little to no zombies.

"This isn't right. There should be dozens of them." Blake said.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing too when I was on night watch." Ruby said.

"Yeah, me too. Where do you think they all went?" Zoey asked.

"Who cares? Good riddance, I say." Francis said.

"No, we're not rid of them just yet. I'm sure of it." Bill said.

"They may have already been killed in this area." Weiss said.

"Maybe there were none here at all. That'd be a nice change." Zoey said.

"No. Look." Blake said. She then lifted up a chunk of meat, seemingly a hand. "It's still warm. That means..."

"There may be other survivors!" Ruby said.

"Hush! We don't know if their intelligence is any better, we need to stay low until we're certain of our situation." Bill said.

"Alright." Ruby said, lowering her voice.

"Besides, if there were other survivors, you'd think we'd heard some gunfire or something." Francis said.

"He has a point. Y'know, unless they decided to use swords or something." Yang said.

"True. Alright, let's just focus on finding our way outta here." Ruby said.

"Agreed. Cmon, this way." Bill said. They went through warehouse after warehouse, trying to find some sort of clue, but they found nothing but boxes and the sort. That was, until they came upon a barricade. They checked around, and it seemed to seal off a bridge that led across a river.

"A bridge. Maybe we can get across it." Louis said. They then made their way around the barricade, which meant going down a ladder to the lower level, going under the bridge, and climbing back up on the other side. There, they found an army truck with a mini gun mounted on the back and a heavy cannon attacked to the truck, which was aimed at a barricade of cars.

"If we're gonna get through the bridge, we'll have to destroy those cars." Blake said.

"This giant gun seems fitting enough." Yang said.

"Yeah, but no doubt that'll get the attention of a few infected around." Francis said.

"Wouldn't be fun any other way." Yang smirked.

"Still, we should get ready." Bill said. They restocked on ammo, along with getting some guns. Ruby took the hunting rifle, along with Zoey and Louis. Yang, Francis, and Blake took the auto shotgun, while Weiss and Bill took the M16.

They searched the building across the street, and found a bottle of pills and a Molotov, along with a few gas cans. Once they were stocked up, Yang fired the gun, and it blasted through the cars, but also created another barricade of fire. Along with that, it also attracted the attention of every zombie in the area.

"There they come! Zoey! Just pretend they're helicopter pilots!" Francis said.

"For the last time! HE! WAS! A ZOMBIE!" Zoey yelled.

"Enough fighting kids, something ugly this way comes!" Yang said, taking the mounted mini gun and shredding the zombie horde to bits. Zoey and Ruby sniped together, defending the cliff side for a bit until the numbers became overwhelming, when resulted in Francis coming over to help them fend off the undead.

"Can we cross yet?!" Zoey shouted over the zombies' screams.

"Not yet! The flames are still high!" Bill said. And they saw that he was right. The flames made the bridge almost impossible to cross, as it covered the whole entrance.

"Yeah... we're gonna have to wait this one out." Yang said, smacking a zombie away from the truck and blasting it afterward.

"No way we can survive this long. Even the mini gun is starting to run low on ammo." Francis said. "Hey Louis, hope you got something bright to saw about this."

"We could have a Tank on us." Louis said.

"Louis, shut up!" Yang shouted, just then the minigun running out of ammo. "Oh, that's just perfect! Why do these things never come with additional clips?!"

"Dammit Yang, just keep fighting!" Blake yelled, slicing a Hunter that leaped at her in two.

"Language! Anyone know of any way to get around the fire?" Ruby asked.

"No way around, we're going to HAVE to wait it out." Bill said.

"Wonderful." Weiss sighed, shooting a zombie right in front of her, which in turn splattered her once white dress with blood.

"Look! The flames are dying down!" Zoey exclaimed, and sure enough, the bridge was open and ripe for the taking.

"Run now! We can make it in the break!" Francis shouted, and they ran for their lives. Blake turned Gambol Shroud into the machine pistol form and fired at the undead horde behind them as she ran. Louis did the same. Once they made it to the bridge, Francis threw a Molotov behind them to give them some breathing room. Those that did make it through the fire were quickly executed. The whole team was out of breath.

"Alright, woo, go team." Yang half cheered as she caught her breath.

"We shouldn't stay out in the open for too long. And the Molotov won't last forever. We should get moving." Bill said.

"He's right. The longer we stay here, the more chances there are for us to die." Blake said.

"Alright, across the bridge, team." Ruby said, taking the front and leading the team. There didn't seem to be too many infected around, which made things easier for the team, when finally once they crossed, they saw the safe house symbol on the ground, pointing to a warehouse.

"There, in the warehouse! Hurry up, guys!" Zoey said, the team rushing to safety. As fortune would have it, they didn't encounter anything inside, and they were finally able to breathe.

"Ah... finally, a nice place to rest." Yang said, sitting down on the table.

"Don't get too comfy. We still need to secure an escape." Bill said.

"I think we may have one." Ruby said, gesturing to the writing on the walls. Though they were different, a similarity was that they all mentioned a modified vehicle a ways away.

"An armored vehicle. It's about time." Francis said.

"Yeah, we can mow through zombies AND have the nice comfort of a well fortified mobile base." Yang said.

"I think our luck is starting to-" Louis said.

"Shut up Louis, don't jinx us now." Blake said.

"But you know, we have been fortunate since we crashed. Finding that warehouse to rest in, not having a single zombie appear all night. I gotta admit, maybe our luck really is turning for the better." Weiss said.

"Alright, look, we can speak philosophy as long as we want, but that won't get us any closer to safety. Gear up and get ready for the travel ahead." Bill said.

And so they gathered supplies, such as new weapons, ammo, health kits, and the sort. Once they stocked up, they removed the bar from the door and set out to find their escape vehicle.

A/N

Man, this took a while to write. Once again, little motivation to write these, so sorry for the long wait. I'm glad to hear you guys are enjoying reading this fanfic. So if you want, leave a review of what you thought and what you liked about the story, or feel free to leave a bit of constructive criticism, what I could fix in future chapters, etc.. And also follow and favorite this story so you don't miss out on future updates.


	6. Chapter 6: Renewed Hope

Chapter 6: Renewed Hope

Killing a zombie right out of the gate, the team headed out of the warehouse. They had little time to rest, as they were still far from safety. Their next destination was the armored vehicle deep in the warehouses. They maneuvered their way through the warehouses, collecting whatever useful items they could, such as medication, explosives, and weapons. Further into the warehouses, after many zombies slain, they went through an alley and into a street, where a barricade blocked their path.

"Any way around?" Blake asked.

"Over there! It looks like we can go through that building." Louis said, pointing to a building next to the barricade.

"See? There's always a solution to everything." Ruby said optimistically. They climbed through the window and through the building, where they exited a small alley and found themselves past the barricade, and ahead they saw military vehicles.

"Hey, look! The military was here." Zoey said.

"Oh great, the military. They're just as much use as cops." Francis grumbled.

"I believe they will still be a better company than the infected." Weiss said.

"Can't really argue with that." Blake shrugged.

"Yeah, alright. But don't go blaming me when one of those military dudes turns and kills us all." Francis said.

The team continued on, going through the wreckages and right, through a fence and into a small clearing, which seemed to be an underpass. But as they stepped in, they heard the screeches of the undead, and pounding on the ground of thousands of feet rushing to them. They lifted their guns and got ready for the fight ahead, the first zombie appearing in front of Blake, who chopped the zombie in half.

"Here they come team!" Ruby exclaimed, shooting into the crowd of zombies, who took on their rounds head on. Their relentlessness was to be admired, but their strategies left much to be desired, which was their downfall in this small battle, as the team got out of that bout with hardly a scratch.

"Didn't even break a sweat." Yang taunted.

"No rest for the wicked, though. There seems to be a way through over there." Zoey said, taking the front and the team headed down the dark underpass. In the distance, they heard a crow cawing, the pitch black bird flying overhead.

"Man, the birds have it easy. We're here fighting for our lives and those bastards get to just sit back and relax." Francis said. "I hate birds."

"You know what, yeah, screw birds." Zoey said.

After a quick laugh, they proceeded onward, hearing a mournful cry. The survivors knew that cry too well. "Witch. Flashlights off." Bill whispered, everyone turning off their lights. They then saw the evil thing just a few yards away from them, surrounded by blood and various limbs and body parts. The mere sight was bad enough were it not for the smell. They all held their breath, as well as stomachs, as they snuck past. The Witch didn't see them, and continued to cry in her bloodbath. When they were finally clear of that horrific sight, they all breathed in and sighed in relieve. But the horror still lingered in their minds.

"You think that those... were the other people that tried to get to safety?" Zoey asked.

"Please, just... don't." Yang said.

"Come on. We can't be too far now." Ruby said, trying to lighten the grim mood.

"Yeah... Come on, we've come too far now." Bill said. They continued forward, and came up to a crashed truck, which seemed to serve as a bridge through the fence.

"Should we search in there?" Blake asked.

"There's no other way around. It's really our only option." Zoey said.

"She's right. Alright, on me." Bill said. He took the lead as they went up the truck. From what he could see, there was no way back out, but there was one thing that caught his eye. "Over there. Look." Bill pointed to the garage in the distance.

"The truck! We actually found it!" Ruby cheered.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! We don't know how many of those zombies are around." Bill grunted.

"Sorry. Okay, how do we get it down? Because it is, uh, suspended from the ground. And, uh, I'm guessing that the power here isn't, well, on." Ruby said.

"Look over there. There's a generator wired up to the building. We can turn it on and maybe, just maybe, that'll activate the lift. And if we're lucky, it won't attract every zombie in the area." Blake said.

"Good thinking, Blake. Move out." Bill said, the team heading out into the area. Half of them, being Yang, Weiss, Louis, and Francis, set up near the truck while Ruby, Blake, Zoey, and Bill worked on the generator.

"Alright, it looks to be wired up correctly. We just need to start 'er up and-" Bill said, the generator starting up. He looked up to see Ruby with her hand on the button.

"Done!" Ruby said.

"Simple enough." Bill shrugged. But then they heard the same blood curdling screeches in the distance.

"Uh, should we?" Zoey asked.

"Yep, we should." Ruby nodded.

"Kay." Zoey said, the four running back into the garage.

"They're coming!" Francis shouted.

"Yeah, we know!" Zoey shouted back, the four climbing up the boxes to the others. And once the undead started to appear, the four up top started to rain down death on them, infected muscle being separated from bone as the bullets ripped through them. Once the others got up, they aided in holding the undead hordes back. Ruby sniped from the back as the others took up the front, but Ruby was just in time to notice the vents above, and saw the green smoke of a Smoker.

"Watch our! Smoker!" Ruby exclaimed just before the Smoker grabbed her and pulled her away.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, rushing to her aid as she disconnected the tongue, right after that shooting the Smoker and killing it.

"Thanks." Ruby grunted as she got up, unwrapping herself from the tongue. "Ew, this is so gross."

"Yeah, we can talk about that AFTER we kill these bastards!" Francis shouted, blasting a zombie in the face.

"Come on, sis. Time to slay some monsters." Yang winked. Ruby nodded and they went back to the Frey, blasting the undead into the next year. A Hunter leaped for them, but was blasted right back with Yang's shotgun. Louis and Blake used their Uzis to keep the fence side under moderate control as Francis and Zoey took near the truck, meanwhile Bill and Weiss had their backs, and as for Ruby and Yang, they were keeping the special infected in check, and more often than not making sure they weren't flanked. But this pace was not to last as the lights sparked and shut off, as well as the truck stopping it's descent.

"Dammit, the generator shorted! Someone's gotta get it back on!" Francis exclaimed.

"You guys hold the fort! Yang and I will go take care of it!" Ruby said.

"Be careful." Bill said.

"With ease, old man." Yang said, the two sisters rushing to the generator, killing any infected in their way.

"Watch your fire, Yang and Ruby are out there now!" Bill shouted over the gunshots. Soon Ruby and Yang were out of the fire spread, which allowed them to cover more ground. The two saw nothing wrong with the generator, and decided it only needed a quick restart.

"Come on come on come on come oooon." Ruby said quickly, gritting her teeth as Yang gave her the cover she needed. "Turn on, dang it!" Ruby shouted, hitting the generator as hard as she could. Strangely, that worked. "I did it!"

"Hurry Ruby, let's get back to the others!" Yang said, shoving aside a zombie as Ruby ran with her. As they climbed up, a zombie grabbed Ruby by the ankle, but she was quick to kick it in the face before it bit her.

"These guys know anything about private spacing? Jeez." Ruby said.

"We got about another minute or so until it's down! Just keep fighting." Louis said, gunning down three zombies in the front. But the time was getting bad, as they were quickly running short on ammo, and in order to get more, they'd have to leave their safe spot and risk dying, which no one really wanted to gamble on. Another misfortune was that the truck seemed to lower less and less as time went on.

"That truck sure is taking it's sweet time!" Yang growled, punching a zombie back.

"And we're nearly dried up in terms of ammo. This is not looking good at all." Zoey said.

"If you have to, use your pistols! We still have plenty of ammo for them!" Ruby said, kicking a zombie back down the crates, then shooting it. After another minute, the truck was lowered, but the team was having a hard time to get some breathing room as the infected were giving their last effort to overrun them. The worst part was, it was working.

"We HAVE to go! NOW!" Francis shouted.

"Alright, run for the truck!" Ruby yelled, and they ran for their lives, Ruby the first to get in, then Zoey, Yang, Weiss, Francis, Louis, and Blake. Last in was Bill, who nearly was stopped by a Hunter.

"Close it! Close it!" Louis exclaimed, Yang shutting the only entrance tightly shut.

"Buckle up, gang! Time to blow this pop stand!" Yang exclaimed, turning on the truck and putting the truck into drive and slamming the gas petal down as hard as she could, smoking out the garage and slamming through the fence. Behind, the zombie hordes chased, but were easily outspend by the truck going full throttle. And though a bit cramped, they finally felt a bit comfortable.

"Hah... We're finally safe..." Blake sighed.

"That's what we said when we were on that chopper. Look how that turned out." Francis said.

"I'm positive we're gonna be better off in this thing." Louis said.

"Yeah. Yeah, you know what, I think we're gonna be just fine." Zoey said.

"Alright boys and girls, where to next?" Yang asked.

"Back in that safe house, I saw a little mention that the military was headed to Riverside." Zoey said.

"Military? Hell. No." Francis said.

"We have no other option. Unless you have a better idea." Weiss said.

"I agree. The military wouldn't be my first call, but we really have no other options." Blake said.

"Alright team! Next stop, Riverside,... uh..." Ruby said.

"Pennsylvania. Keep forgetting you girls are hermits, what with how well you fight." Francis said.

"Yeah..." Blake said, her and Weiss looking questioning lay at Ruby, who knew what they were thinking.

"Not yet." Ruby mouthed to them.

"Fine." Weiss mouthed back.

"We're just accustomed to fighting to survive. You know, getting food and whatnot." Ruby said.

"Makes some sense." Louis shrugged.

"Whatever. How long till we get to Riverside?" Francis asked.

"According to these maps, about an hour or two." Bill said.

"Three if I keep messing up these turns." Yang said.

"Left!" Bill exclaimed.

"Whoops!" Yang said, jerking the wheel into the left turn, tossing the back.

"Maybe slow it down a little? We don't exactly have seat belts back here." Zoey said.

"Fine. We'll make it four then." Yang said.

"Ten bucks says five." Francis said.

"Whatever, dude." Yang sighed.

Tailing behind them, little did they see, what a little crow.

A/N

I know, an odd ending, but hey, I ran out of ideas. Anyway, here's to a double update! I'm sure you guys will like that. Sorry in advance if I don't update in a while. I've been really busy with classes and work. You know, real life. Still, hope you enjoyed, and you know the drill. Follow and fav, review, etc.. Later!


	7. Chapter 7: Sewage Traversing

Chapter 7: Sewage Traversing

The moment they opened the door, the scent hit them like a truck at a hundred miles an hour. With the combination of both sewage and rotting flesh, it made a mixture that would hit anyone as such.

"Ugh, fuck me, that smells!" Francis coughed.

"No joke. Maybe the gas masks back there were a hint to this place smelling like death." Yang said.

"I told you I wasn't going to be fond of the smell." Weiss said.

"No time for arguing. Remember, we're still a long ways from Riverside, and no doubt that there's a whole army of zombies between us and there." Bill said.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with a Bill on that one. Besides, the faster we get through this, the better." Zoey said.

No one argued with that logic, for obvious reasons. They went into a pipe and proceeded through the waste. There seemed to be more zombies here than there were before, which made them think ammo conservation was a priority. But after clearing the top, they saw weapons below. "Hell yeah, better weapons!" Francis said.

"This'll give us an edge." Ruby said. They climbed down one after another, and saw that the weapons consisted of two auto shotguns, four assault rifles, and one sniper. Yang and Francis obviously took the two shotguns, as Zoey took the sniper, and Ruby, Bill, Weiss, and Louis took the assault rifle. Meanwhile, Blake found a machete buried in the rubble.

"This should be fun." Blake said.

"Looks like the only way forward is… forward." Ruby said. Surely enough, no other path was open for discussion aside from heading straight through. They trudged through the messy waters and back onto dry land, where they saw that right was the only path to follow, as going forward again would just lead to a dead end. So they went right, where they saw a possibility, but also a danger. In order for them to now proceed, they needed to lower the bridge, which would result in them being swarmed with infected, as the lowering process would create a lot of noise.

"Well, crap. No other way forward." Zoey said.

"Why do we always choose the tough way?" Yang asked.

"It won't hurt to at least try." Louis said. They climbed to the bridge, and crossed over to the button.

"Once I activate this, all hell's going to break loose. You guys ready?" Blake said. They all nodded, and Blake pushed the button. The bridge started to lower, but the alarm also sounded. And that was the catalyst, causing the infected hordes to swarm at them. But they were ready, and Yang threw a Molotov at the hordes, setting them ablaze. But then they came from behind, and with it came a Boomer, but they noticed it quickly, and shot it up before it could get close. Zoey saw a Smoker on the other side of the Bridge, and it would've gotten Blake if Zoey didn't have faster reflexes and shot it in the head before it got the chance. And Blake retuned the favor by beheading a zombie that was about to get the jump on her.

"Got your back." Blake said, taking out her Uzi and spraying bullets on the infected, which is what the others did as well. Any too far away, Zoey got. Any too close, Yang and Francis took care of. Then, the bridge opened, and after securing their safety, they booked it, sprinting across the bridge. They set up on the other side, shooting at any that dared to cross. But they realized quickly that the bridge wasn't the infected's only option, as they climbed the walls to get them.

"Run, we'll cover you!" Yang said. She blasted the zombies as they climbed up to them as the others ran to the pipe on the other side. Francis assisted Yang on holding the infected off, but soon the numbers grew too large, and they were forced to retreat with the others. Zoey and Ruby shot the zombies behind Yang and Francis with incredible accuracy as they turned the corner, allowing the two to shoot more freely. But they bagan to get overrun, and moved from their position, with Blake slicing one that was about to clothesline them.

"Keep going! There's an exit just ahead, the others are waiting!" Blake said.

"Hold on, throwing a pipe!" Zoey said, lighting the fuse and throwing her grenade, which flashed and beeped. The light and noise was enough to attract the zombies. They all gathered around it as it blew up, the sewers being filled with guts galore. They climbed a makeshift ladder to the surface, finally allowing them to breathe some fresh air. It still had the slight smell of rotting flesh, but the sewer smell was rid of them. Francis threw a Molotov to cover their tracks once Blake got up, and they set off once again.

"Well, that was a short bit of action." Yang sighed.

"I'm sure it won't be the last. Riverside is still a ways away, we're hardly out of the woods yet." Bill said.

"Literally. I hope a safe house isn't too far." Ruby said. Her wish was granted, as they spotted a safe house symbol just ahead.

"Well would you look at that. Ask and you shall receive." Louis laughed. They didn't waste any time, as they knew if they dawdled, they would get jumped by something. They got into the caboose and closed the door tight, reinforcing it with a box and a folded table.

"This shit's getting old." Bill sighed.

"I dunno, I could go a few more rounds." Yang said.

"The strength of youth. How I wish I could go back to such times." Bill said.

"Hey, you're doing fine for someone your age." Yang said.

"You know, you actually remind me of one of our teachers. Professor Port is about your age, and he still is a huntsman." Ruby said.

"Well, I hope to meet this teacher someday. I feel like we could get along." Bill said.

"Oh yeah, you two are almost exactly alike. He also has a few stories." Yang said.

"That's putting it lightly." Ruby said.

"Geez, the last thing we need now is two old men telling stories of their childhood." Francis sighed.

"Maybe if you took my advice sometimes, you'd actually aim a little better." Bill said.

"He is a war vet." Ruby said. "If any of us has more combat experience, it's him."

"Kid, I've run from cops and gotten away. I think I know enough to get by." Francis said.

"So you're a criminal. Why are we keeping him around again?" Yang asked.

"Because all the stuff in the past, it doesn't matter now. Everything is erased to zero, unless we actually work together and stop arguing like children." Bill said. Everyone was silent. "Now, if we're done arguing, let's get moving. Riverside's not gonna hold out forever."

They exited the caboose, Zoey picking off zombies one by one. She cleared a path to the tower, where there they'd be able to get a better vantage point. They crouched down, sneaking through the train yard. They needed to get a better layout of the train yard, in order to find a way out. Thankfully, it didn't take long for them to find their way up. Zoey scoped out the area while the others waited. Ruby gave Blake her assault rifle as she took the hunting rifle on the table, and proceeded to help scope out the area. Meanwhile Yang and Bill took watch outside.

In the distance, they heard screaming. Human screams. Yang raised her shotgun, but Bill stopped her. "It's far away. It's no concern to us." Bill said.

"I know, but I still want to help them. It was- no, IS my job to protect people. It's yours too, isn't it?" Yang said.

"It is. But nowadays, I've come to accept that I cannot protect everyone. Sometimes, our time is sooner than we would like. And the one I feel most sorry for is Ruby." Bill said.

"Why? She's doing just fine." Yang said.

"I know. That's why I'm sorry for her. She's at such a young age, and has to fight just to survive. As do all of us, but she's the youngest of all of us. That means if she lives a full life, she'll live to remember these horrors forever, and that's something I know of too well." Bill said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Back at Mercy Hospital, we watched nine people die right in front of us in under a minute. That's something that I'll never get out of my head, even when all this is said and done." Yang said.

"That's why I fear for you kids. People who grow up like that tend to turn crazy and insane. That's why I hope you don't live with all of this." Bill said.

"So what, we just want us to have an early death? You may be able to choose your life, but you don't get to choose ours." Yang said. "The reason I fight is because I want people to be happy and have fun. I always was one to party, so I want people to live for that reason too. And Ruby… Ruby always knew why she wanted to fight. She wanted to be like the heroes on the stories she read as a child, the ones who fight monsters and save the day, and never ask for anything in return. She trained herself since she could hold a blade, and hasn't let up since."

"Hell, I had no idea. Well, if only kids these days were as humble as you two- no, you four, this world would grow up to a beautiful place." Bill said.

"Well, it seems you still don't know us at all. It's not like we're perfect, Bill. We still have some problems, and that's only human. But we work to improve those flaws, and we try to turn them into our strengths." Yang said.

"Yo, good news. We scoped out a nice little exit of this place." Ruby said.

"Sweet, what's the plan?" Yang asked.

"We found a little platform that goes over the walls. We can go on there via some stairs at the end and jump onto a train car on the other side. In between should be some rooms, which hopefully have supplies." Zoey explained.

"No complaints from me." Louis said.

"Yeah, sounds good. I'm starting to think we may actually have a chance." Francis said.

"Then let's stop wasting time here. Off we go!" Ruby said. They descended the tower and went to the station, where they climbed up the stairs and onto the platform. Inside the building was a freezer with a pipe bomb, a Molotov, and a pack of pills. Yang took the Molotov, while Ruby took the pipe bomb and Zoey took the pills. Advancing further, the last room had a rifle with a Molotov. Francis took the Molotov and they left the rifle, in case someone was passing here and needed a weapon. But they continued forward, jumping to the train car over the wall, and following the road ahead.

"Be cautious of the rear. Anything can pop out of these trees." Bill said. They all covered each other, passing a turned over bus. They looked inside to see a horrific scene, blood covering almost every inch of the floor with children hardly identifiable with claw marks opening flesh that has rotted for many weeks. Organs and chunks of flesh littered the ground.

"This is sickening." Yang gagged.

"This is a pure example of how heartless and soulless the zombies are. Killing them is a blessing to the world." Blake said.

"Damn straight. This is too much, even for me." Francis said.

"Let's keep moving. This scene won't get any prettier if we stare at it more." Bill said. They set off, trying to get as far away as they can from that horror show. They eventually came to a cabin, with most of its lights on.

"Oh great, a cabin in the woods. I know how this story ends." Zoey said.

"As if a zombie infested forest didn't spell out death enough." Yang said.

"There might be supplies inside. Basing on stereotypes, people this far out usually have a good supply of guns." Francis said.

Sure enough, when they got inside, they found a gun cabinet full of guns. There was an AK-47, along with a G3 sniper and a Spas-12 shotgun. Blake took the AK, Ruby took the G3, and Francis took the Spas shotgun.

"Hell yeah, now we're talking!" Francis said.

"I'm happy with this." Ruby said.

"We should keep moving. I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about this place." Louis said.

"That's a first." Francis said. They exited the cabin and came to an ambulance in front of a cemetery.

"I wonder if this is symbolic of something." Blake said.

They continued on through the cemetery, and found a well fortified church at the end. They heard a faint voice coming from the church. "Maybe someone's praying." Ruby said. But as they got closer, they understood the voice.

"Better safe that sorry." The man repeated crazily.

"I don't think this man's praying." Weiss said.

"Who's there?! I got a bell in here!" The crazy man yelled.

"Hey, can you let us in?" Ruby asked.

"No! Stay out!" The man shouted.

"Have a heart! We got a helpless old man with us." Francis said.

"Hey!" Bill shouted.

"You think I care? You all with your… special blood!" The man shouted.

"What?" Zoey said.

"I've had enough! Ding dong! Ding dong! Come and get it!" The man shouted, the church bell ringing loudly.

"Mister, if one of us gets killed, I'm going to get in there and beat you to death with my gun!" Louis shouted.

"Save the threats, we got incoming!" Weiss said. They saw undoubtedly a hundred infected rushing at them. Ruby and Blake took the front, firing into the crowd of the infected. Bill and Louis covered their rear while Yang, Francis, Weiss, and Zoey covered the other side. In this formation, they were able to hold the church for a while. That was, until the special infected came. A Boomer played decoy as a Hunter and Smoker made their way toward the church. The Hunter pounced on Blake and began clawing. Ruby shoved it off and fired a round in it, but she was trapped by the Smoker, who dragged her away.

She was unable to call for help as it covered her mouth. But Bill saw the danger, and took out the Smoker as quickly as he could. "Thanks Bill!" Ruby coughed.

"Get back to Blake, we'll cover you!" Louis said, reloading his rifle and firing back into the infected. Ruby got to Blake, and fortunately her aura held up against the Hunter's claws, though her side did earn a scratch.

"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch." Blake said.

"We should disinfect it after this." Ruby said. Blake nodded, and returned to firing on the enemy. And as the zombies dispersed, the bell stopped. And the crazy man began acting even crazier. He made rabid noises, and strange growling gargles. When they opened the door, the man had turned into a Smoker, and attempted to grab Yang, but she put a buckshot in his face before he could get a full wrap around her.

"Jeez, these things are annoying." Yang said. They got inside and shut the door behind them, barricading the door with a large box and a shelf. They went upstairs where they found ammo and some medical kits. They then went to treat Blake's wound, as they knew it would get infected if it was left untreated.

"I kinda feel bad for that guy. Sure he was crazy, but he didn't deserve to die." Ruby said.

"Eh, he tried to kill us. Had it coming to him." Francis shrugged.

"Is that how you live? Silently judging the dead as if you have the right to?" Weiss asked.

"I have my freedom of speech like you, princess." Francis said.

"I don't think you realize, but we actually care about the people out there, the ones who have to wander around dead, trapped in a torment of endless death. They were people once, like you and us, and we want to help them rather than kill them." Yang snapped.

"We all want to help them, Yang. But so far, there's not a cure for them. And if there was, do you think they would still be the same?" Zoey said. The huntresses were silent.

"We kill then because it's the only way for them to find peace. It's like you said, they're trapped in torment of endless death, and we would rather see them dead than suffering." Bill said.

"It's not like we can help them without a cure. And it's like Zoey said, they wouldn't be the same afterward. So the best we can do for them right now is to release them." Louis said.

"I wish there was another way." Ruby said. They finished patching up Blake and disinfecting the wound, leaving her with a paper wrap.

"We got Blake patched up, so we should be going soon." Bill said.

"But first, we should get a breather, clean our weapons, and forge a plan. Cause Riverside doesn't seem secure anymore." Ruby said. Sure enough, they looked outside, and the streets were littered with overturned military vehicles and filled with undead military men, along with other zombies.

"Oh boy." Zoey sighed.

"Get ready for the road ahead. I get a feeling the road here was only a taste for what's to come." Bill said. They would soon see that he was right, and more so than they anticipated.

A/N

So… this is a thing. I really thought that I had screwed this story's potential up, but you guys seem to really enjoy it. So now this story is officially revived. So I won't take too much of your time, so please leave a review of your thoughts on the chapter.


	8. Chapter 8: Tension

Chapter 8: Tension

After a quick rest, the group set out of the safe house, and upon exiting, they had a bad feeling about the town. Before they arrived, they heard gunfire in the distance. Now, all that was left was the rotting, walking corpses of the military, along with other refugees that once survived the initial hours of the infection. And in the distance were the screams of those who survived the attack, but were being finished off.

"Well, that's off putting." Yang said.

"Okay, so Riverside's out of the question. Any other ideas?" Zoey asked.

"It's called Riverside for a reason. There's a large body of water not too far from here that we can ride a boat through. If we can make it there, we can hopefully ride downstream to a military outpost." Bill said.

"God, enough of the military! How much does anyone want to bet they'll just shoot us on sight?" Francis said.

"It's always worth a shot." Louis said.

"Oh really? Well, the military doesn't seem to be doing a good job. Look around ya, Louis." Francis said.

"And you think we stand a better chance at an army of zombies?" Weiss asked.

"We've been doing fine on our own so far, haven't we?" Francis replied.

"Yes, we have. But that's only because we haven't run into any of the bandit camps." Bill said.

"I beg your pardon? Bandit camps?" Weiss gulped.

"I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any of them around here. I heard reports of bandits and raiders being near Riverside." Bill said.

"Alright then, so we got not only zombies to deal with, but also crazed psychopaths. This day gets better and better." Yang sighed.

"We should really move. I would not like to be here any longer than we need to." Zoey said. No one argued. A creepy, ruined church didn't seem to be the most welcoming of safe havens. They climbed down, with Ruby picking off infected from above. She provided as the eye in the sky to the team as they easily made it to the gas station on the other side of the street. Once they all got in, Ruby reloaded her G3 and made a dash for the gas station, which didn't lead to any problems for her. Inside, they found another ammo pile and some weapons. They left the weapons, however, since they already had all the firepower they needed.

"I hope to God someone made it out alive." Bill said.

"I wouldn't bet on it. Just look around, it's a massacre." Yang said. And her point was proven as they saw back in the alley a zombie still eating the corpse of a man. The zombie turned to the team, blood and flesh rotting its teeth and a mad desire for more food. It rushed the team, but they put a bullet in its mouth to finish his dinner.

"Happy eating." Francis snarled, shoving it aside as Ruby kneeled down to the half eaten man. His eyes were still open, and mouth wide from terror. She closed his eyes and whispered to the corpse.

"Find peace in the afterlife, for I hereby release your spirit from the mortal bonds. May the gods guide you in death." Ruby whispered.

"If you're done with the holy rituals, we should move on. No doubt the smell for fresh meat will attract more." Francis said.

Ruby turned to Francis. "Do you even care? It's not just the zombies, you know. There are other people out there, who could still live to have a long life. People who could make a change in the world, who are out there defenseless against these zombies."

"Yeah? And why should I care?" Francis asked.

"Because they are humans! Like me! Like you! Because they are our own kind!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Ruby, keep your voice down." Bill said.

"Yeah? And what has the rest of humanity ever done for you? Why would you want to defend the human race?" Francis snarled.

"Because I'm part of the human race, that's why!" Ruby said.

"Both of you, shut up!" Bill snapped. "We are in a city full of infected, and the LAST thing we need now is us turning against each other! We started this together, and we're gonna end this together, or die trying!"

The argument broke, and the alley was silent. They stood silent to see if the infected were coming at them. Fortunately, it was still silent in the city.

"Good. Now let's keep moving." Bill huffed. They then continued navigating the city. But tensions were still high between the survivors and the huntresses.

"I've never seen you like that, Ruby. What the hell is going on?" Yang asked.

"I just can't believe he can be so heartless to our race." Ruby said.

"And you think you're the only one offended by that?" Blake asked. "I may not be fully human, but I still don't think humanity has earned what it's gotten."

"But we need to be strong. If Francis only does this for his sake, let him. If he starts to turn on us because of that…" Weiss said.

"I don't think I could, though. I don't like his attitude toward humanity, but that doesn't warrant death for him." Ruby said.

"We just have to be strong in the face of uncertainty." Blake said. "What the future holds, we'll face it as a team."

They continued on down the street, but then saw that the road was blocked. But they found a way through with a building, which had a back door that was thankfully unlocked. Inside they found a pipe bomb and a pistol. They left the supplies there for other traveling survivors in search for weapons. The exit revealed another parking lot full of infected. The group then proceeded to pick them off, thankfully without too much trouble. Mutated infected seemed to be at a minimum, fortunately, all but with the occasional Smoker or Boomer.

After that, they were practically in the clear. They made their way to the other side of the building, and came to yet another dead end.

"Well, shit. Any way around?" Yang asked.

"Look around. There's gotta be some way through." Bill said. It didn't take long for them to find a path.

"Up here, on the car! We can get up to the balcony through here." Ruby said.

"Good thinking. Let's hope this leads somewhere good." Blake said. They climbed up and went through the balcony door. From there, they found themselves in an office building, where on the other side they found a street completely fortified… from one side. The other side was completely collapsed in rubble, with a forklift under a collapsed overhang, which was being barely kept up. Meanwhile there was a news van next to a carrier, which the group thought as an allegory.

They climbed down, and expected to see a ton of infected, but there was none to be found, strangely, unless you count the rotting corpses of zombies riddled with bullets. They then saw a mounted mini gun surrounded by sandbags in front of the forklift.

"I think I got an idea. But we may want to gather supplies first." Ruby said.

"Why do I get a bad feeling from this?" Weiss said.

"Dunno, but we should get ready. Never a bad idea to be prepared." Louis said. They gathered all the ammo they could as Yang took the mini gun. There wasn't much preparation to be done as Ruby set her idea in motion. She went to the forklift and forced it to lower. As it did, it got stuck.

"Come on." Ruby sighed. She knocked on it a little, and it got unstuck, but caused a loud crash. "Ta-da!"

"Guess that's one way to make a path." Francis shrugged. But then a loud screech filled the air, and the infected hordes were to be heard from a mile away.

"This is why we got guns!" Yang said, spinning up the mini gun. When the first wave came in, they were ready, Yang wiping the streets clean of zombies with one wave of bullets. But they then started to come from behind, causing them to change plans. Louis, Bill, Francis, and Zoey took the rear as the huntresses took the front. A Smoker tried to grab Louis, but Bill acted faster, shooting the Smoker before Louis could be carried far.

"Thanks Bill." Louis coughed.

"Get up quick, we got more incoming!" Bill said as he reloaded. The wave seemed unending, and it didn't take long before the mini gun ran out of ammo.

"We aren't going to last forever here." Blake said.

"Yeah, she's right! We're getting overrun!" Francis said.

"Then run!" Bill shouted. They didn't take a second thought as they ran up the overhang and over the pile of rubble. They dropped down, and they began to get swarmed. Blake took out her machete and hacked through the first row of zombies.

"Pace yourselves, they can't keep coming forever." Weiss said.

"You say that, and yet it feels like this horde never ends." Zoey said.

"We need to push forward!" Blake shouted, slashing through another row of infected. The hordes were becoming too overwhelming, even for the huntresses. They also knew that it wouldn't be long before either their ammo ran out or one wave would get lucky. They ran down the alley when an opening showed itself. Once at the end, Yang threw a Molotov behind them to cover one side. The sound of screaming, burning zombies filled the night. Blake's blade was now tinted with the shade of crimson, red with the blood of hundreds of zombies.

"Don't give in yet, we still got a ways to go!" Bill said.

"Look! Over there!" Ruby exclaimed. She pointed down the alley, past a chain link fence. At the end was a doorway, solid and red.

"A safe house! About damn time!" Francis said. They all pushed past their exhaustion and ran for the house. But of course, as always, the universe threw a wrench in their plans, as another legion of zombies came between them and the safe house. They knew it'd take too long for them all to climb the fence, so they went up to the high ground, where there they found a plank serving as a bridge. They quickly formed a path that led them over the fence, as they tore through the zombies like a knife through butter. They heard a Smoker, but it's war cry was cut off suddenly. But they didn't dwell on it, as the safe house was within their grasp. Ruby was first, firing past them to give them cover. Yang was next, also giving cover fire for the others. One by one, they all piled in, Yang and Ruby finally slamming the door shut once the last one got in.

They all panted from exhaustion, the adrenaline of the battle wearing off. "Holy hell. That'll wake you up better than coffee." Francis said, laughing a slight bit. The others couldn't help but laugh too, with surviving the onslaught that was just behind that door.

But Bill became the voice of reason quickly. "We need to come up with a backup plan. Cause the military sure as hell isn't here anymore." The others stopped their laughing and came to the discussion.

"I mean, I told you guys that this wasn't gonna freaking work." Francis said.

"But there's gotta be some other way outta here. Maybe one of the vehicles is still working around here." Louis said.

"Oh yeah? Like the forklift Ruby destroyed?" Francis said.

"It was probably gonna break anyway." Ruby mumbled.

"I'm sure we can think our way through this one." Louis said. His optimism shined through the most bleak situations.

"Wait, this place is called Riverside for a reason, right?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, there's a river not too far from here. Why?" Zoey said. Ruby caught on to what Yang was suggesting.

"We can either call in or find a boat at the river! Then maybe we can find an area with military personnel. Better than walking, in my opinion." Ruby said.

Bill ran through the plan, and nodded. "It could work. There are a lot of cabins next to the river. I wouldn't doubt that someone had a radio."

"See? I told you there'd be a way around this." Louis said.

"Alright fine, point to Louis." Francis sighed as he wiped some blood off his shotgun.

Meanwhile Yang just finished blockading the door. "Alright, no more baddies should come from this way." Yang said as she patted her hands.

"Wait, quiet." Bill hushed. No one made a sound. They heard the faint growls of the undead, and the cawing of a crow, but no other noise.

"What is it?" Weiss asked. Blake's bow twitched.

"I hear it. Listen closer." Blake whispered. They stepped closer, and they heard it. Vicious growling. As if a wolf was prowling, but it was more savage than a wolf's growls. It was so silent, though, that it would be next to impossible to hear it without listening carefully. Then they heard footsteps, large ones at that. As if every step it took could crush a skull with hardly any weight added.

"Sounds like a tank." Francis whispered.

"Sounds like more than a tank." Bill looked back at Francis. "It sounds like a monster."

"A monster..." Blake repeated. She had ideas of what it could be, but she prayed to the gods that it wasn't what she thought it was. But they restocked on ammo, and formed a plan.

"Alright. We take this slow. Everyone take a knife." Bill said. He laced out seven Bowie knives that were lying around. Everyone took one. "We stay silent. Don't let a single zombie see you. One cry could alert... whatever it is out there. If it's a tank, run like hell. If it's anything else, try to shoot it, see if you can slow it down." Everyone nodded in agreement. Even Francis seemed willing to cooperate without too much argument.

Bill carefully lifted the bar on the door and slowly opened it. They took out their knives as Bill covered the first zombie's mouth and dug the knife into its gullet. Its cries were silenced by Bill's hand. No one seemed any the wiser. They snuck around the garage, picking off zombies one by one, muffling their cries. But one saw them, and screamed as it ran at them. Blake shoved her machete into its spine as she quickly beheaded it. Everything was silent. The tension could be cut with a knife. They then heard a charging sound. They all ran to cover as the garage wall exploded. In its wake was a nightmare.

It was the form of a gorilla, with bullet holes in each arm, which were the circumference of a tire, at least at the forearm. The shoulders bulged with absolute muscle. It wasn't a tank, to be sure. Or at least a normal one. It leaned over, hunch backed, with the back being as tough as iron. Ruby peeked at it, and had to cover her mouth to not let it hear her. She quickly turned back around, with her eyes wide in both fear and wonder.

'How... this isn't possible.' Ruby thought.

"What is it?" Zoey whispered. Ruby didn't respond. Her fear made her almost mute. "Ruby." Zoey whispered, this time more sternly.

"Grimm." Was all Ruby could gather in her throat. Yang, Weiss, and Blake all perked up.

"What did you say?" Weiss asked.

"It's a Grimm. A Beringel." Ruby said. They all felt their hearts drop.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight a Beringel with these weapons?" Yang asked.

"Hold up, what the fuck is a Beringel?" Francis asked.

"It's a Grimm. From where we come from. It's ruthless and brutal. It can split you in half with one tug, and it can survive a direct hit from a cannon." Weiss explained.

"Dammit, if only the others were here, we could have Pyrrha create a distraction." Yang muttered.

"What the hell are you going on about? What the hell is a Grimm?" Bill asked. The huntresses realized they said too much. Soon, they'd have to spill the beans.

"We'll discuss that later. Once we're not about to die." Blake said.

"Let me take a look at it." Francis muttered.

"No! Francis! It'll see you!" Yang half whispered. But Francis didn't show any fear when he turned the corner.

"What the hell are you taking about? I don't see anything here." Francis said in a normal tone.

"The hell?" Yang said. She looked, and sure enough, there was nothing. Nothing except a giant hole on the wall.

"This isn't right. Beringels are usually simple minded. But then they heard the roof creak. They saw it about to cave in.

"Run." Ruby said. The ground shook slightly. "Run now!" Ruby now yelled. They all broke into a sprint as the roof collapsed. In the rubble was the beast of black, a monstrosity that the survivors had never seen.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Francis exclaimed.

"We'll explain later. Just run, for Christ's sake!" Yang shouted. They didn't bother to shoot it, as it was beginning to give chase, the ground shaking with every step it took. Lightning sounded with each pound of the fist. They broke through a door as they closed it to try to slow it. But it might as well have been hay and sticks, as the Beringel broke through it without effort. They ran through the house's back yard, and into a large clearing. The Beringel jumped with unrealistic force, landing in front of them, roaring and pounding its bone chest. It became clear that they wouldn't escape Riverside without a fight. They took their guns in hand and prepared to fight. Their hearts pounded as they prepared to take on Satan's left hand.

A/N

Just gonna leave you guys handing there. Because I just love suspension. But please leave a review of what you thought of the chapter, and if you have any ideas for the story that you don't want anyone else to be spoiled on by reading the reviews, PM me. And remember, this is rated M for a reason.


	9. Chapter 9: Confessions

Chapter 9: Confessions

A car flew past as the Beringel sent a chunk of earth flying at the survivors. They dodged the attack and fired at the beast. But it didn't even flinch at the bullets. It seemed to just shrug them off and continue at the survivors. But the huntresses intervened, as Yang used a large branch to whack the beast away. The force took the Beringel by surprise, as it flew into the guard house, which exploded from propane. But it still stood, roaring with anger and pounding the ground, creating a tremor with each pound. But the tantrum gave them time to regroup and get a breather.

"This damned thing's gonna kill us before we even get it weak." Francis cursed.

"God, you swear a lot." Yang said.

"Not. The time." Zoey said, breathing heavily. Strangely, the beast seemed to target Zoey more than the others. It also seemed to target Ruby equally as much. But they didn't have time to contemplate that fact, as the Beringel rushed them again, this time with a derooted tree in hand. It wanted payback, as it slammed Yang with it at full force, sending her into a white van, which crumbled as she slammed into it.

"YANG!" Ruby exclaimed as she tried to run over, but the Beringel whacked her aside, Ruby crashing through a fence.

"Alright then, it's barbecue time!" Francis yelled, throwing a Molotov at the Grimm. It burst into flames, but it didn't burn like a normal zombie would. The flames startled it for a while, but it soon extinguished. It looked to Francis, with a murderous red glow in its eyes. "Shit." Was all he could managed as he was slammed across the lot. He couldn't get up, as now his leg was caught in a root. "Come on, dammit! I'm not letting the Grim goddamn Reaper beat me!"

But the Beringel cared not for his pleas, as it raised its fists to crush Francis, but s blade pierced its chest. It looked down to see it, and saw Zoey with a katana, hilt dug into the back. The Grimm scoffed as it whacked her away. Her cushioning was a stone wall, at least what remained of it. Her back went stiff as she was next to paralyzed from the slam. It seemed to focus on her chest. Perhaps wanting to exact a toll. It took a stick, and planned to shove it into her torso. But Blake sliced the stick in two as she sliced it in the neck. But the blade only scratched the surface of its thick hide. It took her blade and punched her with godlike force. She landed next to a grill as it charged at her. She opened the grill and, steeling her nerves, took a handful of burning hot coals and threw it at the Grimm.

It roared in pain as Blake took her blade again, as well as taking the katana in its back. "Weiss!" Blake exclaimed as she tossed her the katana. "Together."

Weiss nodded as they stuck their blades deep in the Grimm's legs. But though it roared in pain, it still stood to the pain, and slammed them both. They landed in a brown SUV, unable to move from the debris. It leaped up and planned to smash them into the ground. But Francis had recovered by then, and fired a shotgun shell into it as it came down, the full blast getting it in the face. It roared in agony from the buckshots. It took a wooden post and hurled it at Francis, but he jumped out of the way. By now, everyone began to recover from their injuries. Bill and Louis began to fire at the Beringel, and this time it seemed to work.

But it kept coming, swiping at Zoey, and just missing. She put two bullets into it before running again.

"Hold your fire, Zoey could get in the crossfire!" Bill shouted. They ceased fire, the Beringel still pursuing. Zoey dived out of the way of another swing and rolled with the dive. She fired three more bullets into the Beringel before it resumed chase.

Blake then saw why it was going for her. "Zoey! Throw off your jacket!"

"What the hell is that gonna do?" Francis asked.

"It's like a bull, it's attracted to red. That's why it's common in places in flames. That's why it's here." Blake explained.

Zoey gritted her teeth as she quickly unzipped her jacket, throwing it to her left as the Beringel ran toward it. It took the jacket and ripped it to shreds as they opened fire on the beast. When it regained its senses, it charged at the survivors. That charge forced them to split up, but the beast went for Blake, swatting her like a fly, and her bow caught a thorn, which made a scratch in the tip. Her ears were now exposed as she tumbled down the hill. The Beringel ripped through the trees to finish off the cat Faunus, but when it raised its arm, it lowered it to realize it was completely gone. It turned to see Yang with its arm in her iron grip, crushing every bone in it. She took its head and, with anger unparalleled, slammed it into a broken tree, which pierced it through the chest, thus ending its existence in a miserable agony.

Yang proceeded to help Blake up, and noticed her ears were exposed. "Hey kitty, your hearing aids are out." Yang played. Blake shook herself awake as she realized what Yang was saying. "Should we get you a hat?"

"No. No, I think it's time we told them." Blake grunted as she held her side.

"You sure?" Yang asked. Blake nodded weakly. "Alright." Yang shrugged.

"You guys alright?" Louis asked.

"Yep. The Beringel is dead, don't worry." Yang said.

"And Blake?" Weiss asked.

"Just fine. Though…" Yang then became visible with Blake, her ears lowered. "Surprise."

"Wait… where's her bow?" Zoey asked.

"Not here anymore." Yang said. Weiss looked concerned, along with Ruby.

"What're you talking about, her bow's right the-" Francis said, then saw Blake's ear twitch. He stepped back. "What the actual fuck."

"Yeah, she's a cat. Faunus." Yang said.

"A… What?" Louis asked.

"This is some Japanese shit, I swear to God." Zoey said.

"Japa-what?" Ruby asked.

"Never mind. Why does Blake have cat ears?" Zoey asked. A question the other survivors were about to ask.

"Well, we're not exactly… from this world." Blake responded, a line she wanted to say for a long time. So, as expected, her delivery was spot on.

"I… don't follow." Bill said.

"We come from another world, called Remnant. Everything we told you about us being hermits was a lie. We're huntresses trained to protect our homes from the creatures of Grimm, and other dangers. And that Beringel we fought was only one species of Grimm." Weiss explained.

"I call bullshit. That… Beringel is just a mutation of a tank." Francis said.

"You know what, yeah. What proof do you have?" Zoey said sternly.

"Weiss, if you will." Yang gestured to Weiss. She nodded as she took her katana in hand.

"I hope this works." Weiss said. She took a deep breath and focused her energy. She brought forth a glyph the form of a snowflake, which brought a giant icicle that emerged from seemingly nowhere. The survivors jumped back in surprise.

"What magic is that?" Bill exclaimed.

"It's her semblance. She can make glyphs that do amazing things. By the way… you got that whole summoning thing down yet?" Yang asked.

"Still working on it." Weiss sighed.

"Oh well. But point is, those of us on Remnant are able to do amazing feats like that." Yang said.

"Yep. I can travel at light speeds, Yang gets stronger with every hit she takes, and Blake can make a clone of herself to take a hit." Ruby added.

The survivors looked to each other in shock, not sure as to what they should say. Then Louis spoke up.

"I believe them. With what happened with that thing, and how Weiss is able to make ice appear in the middle of summer with no water anywhere, I think their story makes sense."

"Alright, look, we can argue about this when we get a boat." Bill said.

"Oh, right. We beat the Beringel, so let's get going." Zoey said. They then went on along the path and came to a small shack next to the river. On the other side of the river, way far out, was a city on fire.

"Oh boy. Who wants to bet a hundred on us finding a dead body in that shack?" Francis said.

"Why would you bet money on that?" Louis asked.

"'Cause it's money in the bank. Remind me to explain gambling to you sometime." Francis said.

"It's not worth it, let me say." Yang whispered to Louis, who nodded in understanding.

"Hey, look! On the dock!" Ruby exclaimed. They all saw it, a large row boat, still floating in the water.

"Well, thank God! Just when you think the whole universe is against you, it throws you a bone." Zoey said.

"Hold up, let's gather some supplies. Just in case, you know?" Louis said.

"What's this? The optimist preparing for the worst?" Yang joked.

Louis rolled his eyes. But they knew Louis was right. They went to the shack, and found a lot of goodies. They found three bottles of painkillers, a stash of ammo, a crowbar, some weapons and first aid kits, a few pipe bombs and Molotov's, and even a defibrillator.

"Damn, this place is stocked! And look! Some actual good food! Non perishable too." Francis said. "Not a bad idea to stop by here, Louis."

"Why, thanks Francis." Louis smiled.

"Yeah, don't let it get to your head." Francis said as he gathered some granola bars and a case of beer.

"Um, maybe bring some water instead?" Ruby suggested.

"Aw, come on, kid. The law may say you're underaged, but this is the damn apocalypse! Rules don't apply anymore." Francis said with an anarchist smirk.

"We're bringing water. Don't want to resort to drinking river water." Yang said. "Besides, it's probably infected to shit."

"Alright, fine." Francis sighed as he took a case of water and put the beer down. But he snuck one in his pocket for later.

After they finished gathering their supplies, they headed for the boat. They all got on, and it seemed to be quite sturdy, able to hold all their weight and the weight of all their stuff. Yang took the paddles and began to take off. Though, the boat seemed caught on something.

"What now?" Francis growled.

"Whoops. Anchor." Ruby said. She untied the rope holding them to the dock, and they were on their way. The river was calming, knowing that not much could attack them now. So they took the time to chat, and they explained further how Remnant worked.

"So there are four kingdoms, and in each kingdom there's one Huntsman academy. And each one serves the purpose of training the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses?" Louis summarized.

"That's pretty accurate." Ruby nodded.

"And each huntsmen has this force field… aura, was it?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah, and a semblance. Well, if you manage to find your semblance. One of our friends there, Jaune, has yet to find his semblance." Blake said.

"And regarding you. What species did you say you were again?" Bill asked.

"A Faunus. Half human, half animal. We carry the basic human appearance with one or two animal traits and appearances. I am a cat Faunus, but there are Faunus for pretty much any animal you can think of." Blake said.

"So do you have night vision? Because, you know… cat eyes." Louis asked.

"It's actually a common trait with the Faunus. I can also hear better than a normal human." Blake said.

"How do you-" Francis asked, but then remembered her ears. "Oh right. Cat ears."

"If only Qrow were here. He'd be able to explain this all better." Ruby said.

"How could a crow explain anything?" Francis asked.

"No, she means our uncle, Qrow. With a Q." Yang said.

"Oh, okay. So what, is his semblance turning into a crow?" Francis asked.

"Uh… we never really asked him what his semblance is. Guess it never really came up." Ruby said.

"Well, I mean, you guys are here. And that Grimm thing got here, so maybe he is here somewhere." Zoey said with hopefulness.

"I hope so. We could use him." Yang said, grunting as she turned the oars.

"You alright?" Bill asked.

"Yeah. Just still hurting a bit from the Beringel." Yang said.

"No kidding. Thought my spine had shattered fighting that thing." Zoey said, rubbing her back.

"So… what's next?" Francis asked. Everyone was quiet in thought.

"I… haven't really planned that far ahead. Maybe we'll run into some military patrols." Ruby said.

"I really don't think the military would be here anymore. Maybe make our way over to the other side of the river." Bill said.

"Yeah, maybe the military just moved over there." Louis said optimistically.

"Or maybe they got slaughtered back in Riverside. Look, face facts, we're most likely on our own." Francis said. They heard gunfire in the distance.

"What was that?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe other survivors." Zoey said.

"Well we should reuse them!" Yang said.

"Keep paddling." Bill said.

"But they-" Yang tried to retaliate.

"Keep moving toward the city. Chances are, they'll be dead by the time we get there. And besides, it's not like we're exactly open for customers. We got lucky with this boat. I'd rather not waste this gift." Bill said sternly. He clearly remembered a scenario like this. And they knew it went the other way around, where he went for the person.

The huntresses sighed, and continued rowing toward the city. The current got stronger as they continued, and the deeper water made it harder and harder for Yang to paddle. They soon began taking turns rowing the boat. Soon, however, they were close to shore. Their destination was just ahead.

But disaster struck. Out of nowhere, an RPG fired. They were too slow to see or avoid it, and the boat went down, along with all their things. Even the huntresses' weapons were taken with the ship. They gasped and swam to shore, but when they made it, they were surrounded, held at gunpoint.

"Bandits." Bill snarled.

"What've we got here?" A man asked.

"Seems like three males, five females. But…" another man said. He whispered to the first man.

"Oh hoh! Well now, this should be an interesting week, indeed! Take them." The first man said. They were then hit in the back of the head, and they fell to unconsciousness, as they were taken by the clan of bandits.

A/N

Oh boy, things are escalating. I know that Left 4 Dead didn't really have any bandits, or made any mention of them, but I figured that in an anarchist world, there'd be one or two bandit clans in the story. Regardless, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to seeing what you thought of it.


	10. Chapter 10: Showtime

Chapter 10

Showtime

Ruby's vision was blurry, and her head ached as if hit a thousand time with a bat. She felt cold steel on her body, and realized she was in a cage. As her vision focused, she realized that there were more cages around her, in a giant cave. She also realized the clothes she wore were not hers. Her dress was replaced with old rags, torn, and with blood stained on them.

She shook her head, focusing more on her surroundings. In the cages was everyone else passed out. They all had chains on their legs connecting them to the cages. When she looked, so did she. She tugged at the chain, trying to break it, but her strength wasn't enough. But her struggling seemed to wake up the others, as they all began to rise up, hands placed on their foreheads. No doubt they shared Ruby's experience just as much.

"Ugh… where are we?" Zoey moaned. Her voice was gravely, clearly dry from not drinking in… God knows how long. Ruby couldn't remember how long it was since she had a proper meal, discounting the dried bread they were living off of. And those granola bars Francis found in the cabin.

"Anyone else wishing we just stayed at the cabin?" Yang asked.

"I bet it would've ended in the same result either way." Francis sighed. He looked over to Louis. "Got anything bright to say now?"

"Well, we could be dead." Louis said.

Francis grumbled. "I'd prefer to be dead over being left in meat storage."

"What kind of sick, twisted bandits are these guys anyway?" Weiss said.

"Well," a raspy voice said from the darkness, "humans do the same thing to pigs and cows. It's just as inhumane as that. And yet, when it's a pig or cow, no one seems to bat an eye."

"Cut the bullshit philosophy." Francis growled.

"Young one, you'd be wise to not be rude to your elders, lest they come and slaughter you." The old man said.

"What's an old man like you doing in a bandit camp anyway?" Francis asked.

"A fine question. I am, like you all, looking for a safe haven. Somewhere to find food, shelter. Medical attention." The old man said.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know, child?" The old man laughed, then coughed. "I am a fortune teller. Or at least I was. I was granted incredible sight as a child. I could foresee events that will befall this world. I told of this tragedy, but no one listened. And I see the tragedy is nowhere near over. There is a greater calamity that will ruin all worlds, an apocalypse that will tear apart the fabric of reality until it becomes nothing more than a strand of thread. So to speak."

"I'm calling it, this guy's bonkers." Francis said.

"Be silent!" The old man's voice echoed fiercely through the cave. Everyone was startled at his sudden outburst. He settled. "Ahem. As I was saying. This world is destined to be ruined. It always has been. But it's more from that. Much more."

"Please tell us more." Ruby said. She was intrigued at the man's stories.

"Not now. They come." The fortune teller said. The doors to the cave, which were made of logs and sticks, burst open, and light poured into the room. They then saw the fortune teller was also chained to the wall. But at the door stood two burly men, both with a chain and hook. One came to Ruby's cage, and the other to Bill's. They connected the hook to their cages, and dragged them out.

"Hey! Where are you taking them!?" Yang pounded on her cell. The men said nothing as Ruby reached hopelessly out to Yang. But soon their cages fell over, and they tumbled out as their chains disconnected from the bar. They now stood in the edge of an arena, which was made from chain link fences and other metals fused together. Outside of it, a crowd roared. And above them all, on a wooden platform with an overhand and an office chair, stood a man.

He had a black leather vest over a green collar shirt, and a scarf wrapped around a fleece hood. He wore beige pants with a knife on the side, along with a machete on his back with an M16, along with an M1911 in his pocket. In his hand was a long stick, sturdy as a log, but narrow as a branch. When he rammed it to the ground, the crowd silenced. He cleared his throat, and spoke.

"As leader of the Hooded Raiders, I declare that the Week of Blood begins!" He said, and the crowd roared with cheers. He waved his stick, and slowly the crowd went silent again. "Today we have our two contestants… dammit, what were your names again?"

Ruby and Bill remained silent, glaring at the man.

"Fine then, stay silent. The unnamed gladiators shall face off against this beast!" He waved to a cage left to Ruby and Bill, which contained another Grimm. This one was different from any Grimm in Vale, but Ruby could still identify it.

"That's a Fly Lord. It's common at my home." Ruby whispered. "It's weak point is on its neck. A small fold in the back, just wide enough for a small knife to fit in."

Bill nodded. "But how are we gonna kill it with just our hands?"

"I haven't thought out that part." Ruby said.

"But- gosh!- it's be rude of me not to give you a fighting chance! So here!" The man then tossed a knife, that landed right next to the cage. "Let's unleash the beast!" He then shot the cage's lock, and the Fly Lord took off. It bounced toward the two, but they rolled out of the way. With it now out in the open, they could see all the details. It was towering at ten feet tall, leaning, with six limbs, four used as feet and two used as hands, with one being like a crab's claws, and the other like a Beowolf's paw. It also had strange wings, one like a Nevermore's, but the other like a bat's. They were placed strangely on the front legs. It looked like an abomination of a hybrid of every common Grimm.

Ruby rushed and got the knife, which was, as expected, blunt on the edges. But the tip was just sharp enough to pierce the hide. But only under the weak point. She then tossed the blade to Bill. "Remember the weak point!" Ruby yelled over the crowd. Bill nodded as he flipped the blade. The beast charged again, gnashing at Bill with the crab claw, but he slid under the claw and rolled with it. He tried to slash at the beast's side, but it had no effect.

'Without a gun, this is gonna be way harder that that Beringel.' Bill thought. But it seemed the beast had disregarded Bill entirely, and was now focusing on Ruby. But when it tried to catch her, she used her semblance to zip out of the corner. The beast snarled as it roared at the two. But yet it only saw one. Bill climbed on its back as it looked for him. He then got to the neck, and saw a small fold on the back. The exact width of the knife.

He stuck it in fast, and the beast roared in pain as it bucked and kicked, trying to fling Bill off. It reached for its back, but when it got close, Bill twisted the knife, and it flung its arms back down, smashing at the ground in pain. It backed up to the fence, trying to smash Bill between it and the metal. But he pushed through the pain, and pushed the blade deeper, piercing the beast's esophagus as it roared again, black blood splurging out of its mouth as it fell over, and Bill ran the blade through the neck, and the beast was no more.

The man applauded them. "Well done! Well done! These two are clearly the ringleaders! A brilliant show for the first day of the Week of Blood!"

"Son, you're absolutely crazy." Bill said, wiping the black blood off the blade.

"Maybe I am. Maybe we're insane. But it matters not. You two are gonna bring a ton of entertainment for us. And I can't wait to see these beasts tear your intestines from your torsos, and it'll be delicious to see you watch as your friends die horribly, and violently, before your very eyes. Because that's the fate for every Huntsman. Isn't that right, little Red?" The man smirked as he knew he baffled Ruby.

"W-... how… How do you know about the Grimm, and about huntsmen?" Ruby stuttered.

The man laughed. "What? You thought you and your buddies were the only ones to arrive from Remnant?"

"Oh my God, you weren't kidding." Bill said.

"You know my name, I know, but you do not know that I belong to it." The man said as he slammed his stick. "I am Robert Hood! Master thief of Vale!"

The name slammed Ruby with all the knowledge she needed of the man. "I thought…"

"That I was dead? Yeah yeah, the authorities find out a criminal disappears, and claims that he died to Grimm. A man whose only goal was to give hope to the smaller people. But apparently, all the higher ups want to make sure that the lesser people are quelled and left to rot! You Huntsmen think that you help people by stopping the criminal and saving the day, but all you do is steal the hope from the people underneath your boots!" Robert then breathed in, composing himself. "Apologies. Got ahead of myself. The point is, I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure you all suffer."

Ruby clenched her fists as she moved toward him, but her ankle chain was pulled, making her fall over, and she was dragged away.

"We can do this act all day, Huntress! You'll break eventually! I'm more patient than you think! I can wait forever!" Robert said, and the two were taken back to their cages and locked away.

"Ruby! Thank the gods you two are alright!" Yang said.

"What's even going on out there?" Blake asked.

"They're not just keeping us in meat storage. They're making us fight for their entertainment." Ruby said.

"Gladiatorial combat. Great, so the human race is falling back to the dark ages." Zoey said.

"See kid, this is why I don't give a shit about other people nowadays. Because either they're baggage or they're maniacs. Well, aside from everyone here." Francis said.

"But even so, they still have souls." Ruby said.

"Do they?" Bill snarled. "I haven't ever seen people act like this in the war. I'm starting to think demons exist, and they're possessing everyone they can."

"You are correct, Bill." The fortune teller said. "The world is falling to Lucifer's hand. God cannot gain a foothold in this battle. It is because we allow this to happen. By our actions- our sins- we allow the demons to command us, pull us around like puppets."

"Alright, enough Bible study, old man. Can you stop with the riddles and actually be useful?" Francis snapped.

"I'm afraid that if I would tell you the facts, then your fates would be altered. I see you all play a part in this great story, and if I were to interfere, then the world itself would change. For the worse." The fortune teller said. They all exchanged confused looks.

"I… still don't understand." Ruby said.

"You will soon, young Rose. But my time is near. Before I depart, I shall leave you with this: Stray from the king." The fortune teller said. The huntresses remembered hearing that sentence the time they passed out at the sewers, but even then the meaning was unclear. But then one of the burly men took the old man's cage and dragged him out, where he would be slaughtered by the Grimm. But he repeated himself for the others. "Stray from the king."

"What does that mean? Stray from the king?" Yang asked.

"Closest thing to a king around here is the president, either that or the Prime Minister, assuming Britain still exists." Louis said.

"I would doubt it's fallen. It seems to be only limited to the eastern area of America." Zoey said.

"And the other areas refuse to help us?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. Their logic is that we're lost, and sending people in would be reckless and foolish. Even other countries are avoiding this area." Bill sighed. "At least people can be safe knowing that war isn't gonna be the first choice of action."

"Silver linings in this hell hole." Zoey said. They sat in silence for a while, hearing the roars of the crowd disperse as night fell, and they all slept. Even the survivors and huntresses slept, as they could do nothing at the moment. They learned that the cages were strategically built to cave in if a bar is moved, to make sure the prisoner doesn't leave alive.

It was a twisted, mental strategy, but at the same time efficient, they had to admit. But with the apocalypse happening, it was tough to stay sane. And with mentality gone, the mind begins to get creative in how to kill. Especially against men.

The next day, they spent trying to survive, through whatever method they could come up with, however twisted and morbid. It wasn't something they were proud of, but they were more concerned about staying alive than keeping their morals. But then Ruby alone was pulled out one day. They had prepared a trial that would truly test her morals.

When she was pulled out, she saw no other cage, aside from one boy on the other side, armed with a spear.

"What is this?" Ruby asked.

"Good old-fashioned gladiatorial combat! Two enter, one leaves. Alive." Robert said. His evil smile haunted Ruby as she realized what he meant.

"No. No, I'm not going to kill another human." Ruby said.

"You've killed plenty of zombies, haven't you? What's the difference?" Robert said with casualty.

"The zombies are already dead. And Grimm don't have a soul. But humans do, and we're all alive!" Ruby exclaimed. She clenched her fists. "I won't fight you. Nor will I fight any other human to the death."

The boy seemed surprised at her. But Robert sighed. "I thought you'd be wiser." He then pulled out a gun and aimed at Ruby's head. But as he fired, the boy got in the way, the bullet pierced his skull, and the blood splattered Ruby. His body shook, like a pig whose head's been chopped by an axe. Ruby knelt by the boy, and raised his head. There was no recovering him. Ruby shed a tear for the boy who she would've fought, and ended up saving her life. She took her two fingers and closed his eyes shut.

"Find peace in the afterlife, for I hereby release your spirit from the mortal bonds. Maybe gods guide you in death." Ruby said as a tear from her eye landed on his. Then she heard the laughter of the crowd. Her sorrow burned into rage. She laid the body of the boy on the ground. "You're all insane! All of you! Do you not care for the people who have to suffer from this hell? What are you even accomplishing by doing this?"

Robert stood. "Didn't The fortune teller tell you? We're making sure that he is resurrected. And to do so, chaos must engulf the world. So we shall."

"Who is he?" Ruby growled, her knuckles turning white.

"Have you forgotten your dreams? The man who always talks to you deep within the recesses of your mind? It's the only way he can communicate to you. And he didn't just talk. He gave you- no, he gave us vision. A vision of a glorious future to come!" Robert laughed chaotically. "The two of them will bring peace to both Remnant and Earth! They will join, and become one! For it is his prophecy!"

"You're insane. You're making a deal with Satan." Ruby snarled.

"Perhaps we are. What's the deal, though? He'll bring more to us than God ever could've." Robert shrugged. He then snapped his fingers, and Ruby was taken. The whites if the boy's eyes would forever haunt her dreams.

[5 days later]

It was Saturday now. A week since they'd been captured. They wish sleep would come to them, but the horrors they've been through in the arena haunted them in the night. But at night, they were all taken out to the arena. A crow cawed in the night's air, cold and frigid.

A large cage now lay in the midst of the arena, with eight swords, one for each of them. The crowd was silent to start. Robert spoke. "It's finally that time, huntresses and survivors! It's time for the big finale! Or should I say finally?" Crickets sounded. "Whatever. Today, ladies and gents, the eight gladiators fight our strongest beast!"

The crowd roared now with cheers. They all screamed for blood, the blood of the survivors, to be spilled and to stain the metal of the arena. Robert shot the locks, and the beast came barreling out. It was a Tank, covered in armor. They all took a sword and readied their stance as the great beast charged them again. Yang landed an uppercut on the Tank's chin, but it hurt her more than the Tank as it punched her into the fence.

Weiss tried to summon using the sword, but it only brought a useless glyph. The Tank charged at her, but Blake used a clone to block the strike as Weiss jumped away. Yang was now recovering from the hit as she shrugged off the pain in her knuckles. The metal on the Tank was more sturdy than iron, to be sure.

Francis tried to stick the blade into the beast's back, but the blade skimmed off the armor plating harmlessly, creating a series of sparks. The Tank then backhanded Francis. His head came close to the fence, almost getting impaled. He looked to see his blade. It was completely bent like a boomerang.

"There's no way we can beat this thing with these weapons!" Francis exclaimed as he tossed the blade aside.

"Oh? What's wrong? Life isn't treating you fairly?" Robert said with feigned empathy. "Good. Now you know my suffering." The Tank punched at Weiss, but she blocked it with a black glyph. "But don't worry, once he rises again, the dead will rejoin the living."

"You're a fucking maniac!" Yang shouted as she punched the Tank away from Weiss.

"All we want is to survive. No different from you." Robert said.

The Tank then charged at Yang, and she seemed cornered. "And the first casualty." Robert smirked. But when the Tank punched at Yang, she darted above it, slamming it into the fence, which broke a shaft holding up Robert. He stumbled a bit before falling into the arena. He drew his sword as he was about to swing at Yang to do the job, but his foot got caught. The Tank now held him, and slammed him into the ground several times. His bones shattered as one rib pierced his heart.

His breathing slowed as he faded from the world. The Tank roared as it pounded its chest triumphantly. The bandits scattered as their leader was no more. The Tank broke the fences, and was free to give chase to the bandits. The survivors used the panic to escape, running far away from the arena. They came to the beach, and rested. Then Blake spotted something in the dark.

"Over here." Blake whispered. They followed, and Blake perked up when they came close. They saw Blake smile. "Fortunate day for us." Blake then held a small wooden box. Inside was all their clothing, along with a few M1911s.

"Well shit. Looks like we hit the fortune jackpot." Francis laughed.

"Hey, there's a note with it." Blake said as she pulled out a slip of paper. She read it. "A little moving out gift. Signed, Qrow." Blake said.

"Ha! I knew Qrow was here!" Ruby laughed.

"He always comes around." Yang smiled as she took her clothes.

"That your uncle you talked about back at Riverside?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah, he's the best!" Ruby said.

"Well, with this little present he's giving us, I wouldn't doubt it." Louis said as he took off his shirt, buttoning on his old one.

They all took off their rags and replaced them with their old clothing. The bushes provided blinds for them as they changed, as well as some cover for them to sleep.

"We move at first light. I'm not too comfortable going out in the open at night. Besides, some bandits may have regathered themselves." Bill said. The Tank's roars echoed in the night.

"And then that." Yang said.

"So we should get some rest." Louis nodded. They went under the brush, and let sleep take their minds in restful peace. And for the first time in a week, got some decent sleep.

The next day, they headed out. After confirming, they took a few safe berries from the bushes nearby as a backup meal. They found a good vantage point to scope out where to go next. After a half an hour of debating, they determined to go to the next city.

"Are you sure? It looks a little… flamey." Yang said.

"So now you're concerned about fire?" Blake joked.

"Ha ha, very funny." Yang said.

"Well, the nearest city other than that is a country mile away. Unless you want to walk that distance?" Bill said.

"I'm good, thanks. Fire city it is." Yang said hastily.

They then made their way to the city, where, in time, they would find their true ticket out of the neighborhood.

A/N

So hey, this has been a thing. Hope you enjoyed, and I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, as well as a safe Black Friday. I'll hopefully have another chapter out before the end of the week, but no guarantees. As I mentioned before, I have about a billion other stories going on at the same time as this one, so it's hard to juggle all these stories around and keep them updated at the same time.

Regardless, leave a review of what you thought, and all that other jazz.


	11. Chapter 11: Development

Chapter 11

Development

It seemed wherever the survivors went, there was yet another disaster to be had. Now they were faced with a crumbling city, a ruin of yet another of humanity's civilizations, which just a few weeks ago, was perfectly peaceful, and carried no fear of collapsing.

After fighting through wave after wave of infected, they decided to take shelter in a greenhouse along the rooftops. There, they found shelter, at least for the time being, where they also found supplies. Weapons, especially, were a commodity now. And since the huntresses had lost their weapons back in the river, which was probably now buried under sand and rocks, they had to rely on these weapons now more than ever.

But as they gathered everything they needed, the ground shook, and overhead they heard the roaring of engines. They saw a plane fly overhead, dangerously close to the ground.

"Hmm… I'm willing to bet the airport is still functional. We could find a plane to get us outta here." Bill said.

"Right. And you know how to fly one?" Francis asked.

"Aw, come on, how hard could it be?" Ruby said.

"To fly a plane blind is like piloting one of those flying droids with a stick, rock, and a piece of gum." Bill said. "Or… something like that. Look, point is it would be extremely dangerous to try and fly one without proper training."

"And what're the odds we're gonna find a pilot in this mess?" Yang asked, gesturing out to the burning city. "It's pretty much next to none. So if we're gonna die, we might as well die trying to fly a goddamn plane."

"At least it'd be painless, for the most part." Francis shrugged.

"Hey, how about we stop talking and actually get going? This place won't be reliable real soon." Zoey said. They then saw the mass of zombies just past the wall.

"Right. And how're we gonna deal with that at once?" Francis asked.

"Alright, we gotta be careful about this." Bill said quietly. "I think we should make a distraction to draw them elsewhere, pick off any stragglers, and make a dash for the exit."

"Or we could just…" Yang said as she lit the fuse of her pipe bomb, and tossed it over to the zombies. They swarmed it, and guts flew everywhere, splattering over the walls. "Ta-da!"

"Well… my plan would've worked too." Bill grumbled.

"Next time, old guy." Louis said, patting his shoulder. They didn't waste any more time and went for the exit before more came. The roofs were now swarming with infected, about a hundred per rooftop it looked like. Louis dealt with the rooftop across from them with another pipe bomb, which killed nearly all of them. They picked off the survivors of the blast with their pistols as they pressed onward, cautious of infected dropping from above.

"Last thing we want is for them to get the jump on us." Bill grumbled softly.

"Agreed. Blake, Louis, cover the rear. Make sure we don't get flanked." Ruby ordered. The two nodded and pointed their guns behind the group, watching for any at all movement behind them. But all of a sudden, the city seemed completely silent. Hardly anything moved, and the crows caws echoed through the building.

But they group didn't let their guard down for a second. "This is bad. It's silent." Bill muttered.

"Isn't that a good thing? The zombies are gone." Ruby said optimistically.

"No, this is wrong. The city was swarming with infected just a second ago. And even if they weren't here, they would've been drawn to the sound of the explosions." Blake said. Her reasoning made sense to the survivors.

"Yeah, she's right. This doesn't make any sense." Francis said.

"Maybe we caught a lucky break?" Yang asked with half certainty.

"No such thing as luck. This is something else." Bill said, now with absolute certainty. They then found a blood pool, still freshly spilled. Next to it was blood footprints and handprints. Bill observed it closely. He smelled it and wrinkled his face. "Yep, definitely fresh." He coughed as he inspected further. The footprints went outside, then up to the rooftop.

"What is i-" Ruby asked.

"Shh!" Bill hushed. He pointed his flashlight to the roof. When he turned it on, it was a swarm of infected on top. They snarled at him as they began to lunge. He quickly turned off his flashlight. He motioned for them to move slowly.

"What is it?" Ruby asked silently.

"Nothing good." Bill whispered. He looked around, and found a ladder to the next rooftop. "Get to that ladder. Quick." The sound of snarling filled the air, as a drop of saliva fell on Zoey's shoulder from the roofs.

"We are so screwed." Zoey muttered hopelessly.

"Go quickly. One at a time." Bill whispered. Ruby went first, then Yang, then Louis, Francis, Zoey, Blake, Weiss, then Bill. The sounds of snarling faded as the survivors went inside the next building through the window.

"What the fuck was that?" Francis gasped.

"This is completely new. They were huddled together in that one place. As if they were preparing for an ambush." Bill said horrified.

"They're getting smarter. The infection- whatever it is- it must be evolving. Making them strategize." Blake said.

"Oh shit." They all said together. The roof now creaked under some form of weight.

"Run?" Yang asked. The roof cracked.

"Run." Ruby nodded. Something pounded on the roof.

"Run!" Bill shouted. They darted out the room as the building began to cave in. Infected began to give chase, screaming bloody murder. The survivors bolted out of the window and saw a red door inside the building across the street. "There! In there!" Bill shouted over the infected, which were now calling to every zombie in the city. They saw thousands of zombies coming from each end of the road.

"Oh shit oh shit!" Yang exclaimed as they ran inside the building. Francis tried to throw a Molotov to cover their tracks, but a zombie caught his arm as he was going to throw it, and bit deep into his forearm. He retaliated with a pistol shot to the brain. It's teeth were pulled out and Francis's blood flew out of his arm.

"Francis, freaking run!" Zoey shouted. He dashed inside the safe room as Zoey slammed the door shut. The zombies fought over control of the door, and Yang helped Zoey keep it shut.

"Form a blockade, quick!" Yang shouted. They took a heavy crate and placed it in front of the door as Yang continued to hold it down. "Big metal bar, now!"

"Here!" Ruby exclaimed as she slammed a metal beam in the door to lock it. Yang was allowed to take her hands off, and the zombies were officially locked out. They all sighed, exhausted.

"Well… that was an ordeal." Yang sighed.

"Francis got bit, we need to treat his wound." Zoey said. She was already washing the wound as Francis gritted his teeth. The bone was visible past the blood.

"Search around for some gauze." Weiss said.

"Way ahead of you." Louis said as he took out some gauze from a cabinet.

"Good thing they didn't take all the medical items." Ruby said. They took one of their Molotov's and took the paper out, pouring the alcohol onto the gauze as they put it on Francis's arm. He exhaled and inhaled rapidly, steeling his nerves as the pain in his arm flared, as if it was slowly melting off. But soon the pain faded as he took two painkiller pills.

"So now I guess I'm infected, Huh?" Francis said, half heartedly chuckling. "Well, if I turn, at least make it quick."

"If we have to." Blake said.

"What if he's immune as well?" Ruby said with hope. She didn't like Francis's ideals that much, but she respected how good of a fighter he was. And she knew he was a human as well, and she wanted to save everyone she could.

"I wouldn't hold hope to that. It'd be a miracle if all of us were immune, let alone two of us." Bill said.

"Wait, if Louis is immune, couldn't we give Francis some of his blood if he's not immune?" Ruby asked.

"Oh yeah, sure. Hey, you see any hospital equipment around here? Anywhere we can store his blood and transfer it to me?" Francis said sarcastically.

"I mean…" Ruby said quietly.

"Face it, I'm practically dead meat. So might as well." Francis said as he raised his pistol to his temple.

"NO!" Ruby exclaimed as she smacked the pistol out of Francis's hand. "If and when you turn, that's when. But for now, I don't want anyone to die."

"She's right. There's always the possibility that you're immune. Which would be a God given miracle." Bill said.

"You sure that's a blessing and not a curse?" Zoey joked.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Francis scoffed.

"But for now, you're still alright. Right?" Bill asked.

"Yeah. Totally fine." Francis said, grunting as he got up.

"You aren't lying, are you?" Blake asked.

"Why would I? If some random shit happens to me, I'll say." Francis said.

"Alright then. We should continue then." Bill nodded. They loaded up on supplies and medical items, and packed some extra gauze for Francis in case the bandages come off.

The outside was a lot more noisy, and the zombies were much more plentiful than last time. And they were merely in the back alley. They dreaded to think how many were just out on the streets.

"I think they've set an ambush again on the street. Might be better if we find a different route." Ruby said.

"Agreed. Maybe we can maneuver through the alleys." Bill nodded.

"Or maybe we can take the rooftops. We'd have to be more careful, but I'm willing to bet there aren't as many up there." Zoey said.

"Never know. If we can't find a way through the ground, we'll go through the rooftops." Ruby claimed.

"Sounds fair. Let's get moving." Yang said. The team moved forward, pushing out of the small warehouse they found themselves in. Thankfully, the door was already open, allowing them to exit without making too much noise.

They heard a lot more noise out on the streets, most likely the thousand zombies that were back at the hotel. The sound of it was disturbing, the screeching of a thousand bloodthirsty demons eager to sink their fangs into whatever flesh they can get.

They weren't sure if they could ever wash away the nightmares now. Yet they pushed on nonetheless, navigating through the building complex. They even found some new weapons to upgrade from. Eventually, they made their way to the roof, where a crane held up a dumpster. Unfortunately, the dumpster was too high up to climb up.

"Well shit. We're gonna have to bring some noise to the fold." Francis sighed.

"Unless… nope, only way is the dumpster." Yang said. "Well, never thought I'd say that in my life."

"So who'd like to do the honors?" Zoey asked. So Blake went up and pulled the lever on the crane, which made a loud creaking noise that echoed through the city. And the city responded with a roar of the undead.

"Well shit. Get ready, kids!" Francis exclaimed. But the infected came faster than anticipated, clamoring over the chain link fence and breaking it down. They opened fire, blood staining the floor and walls. Brains littered the place as they continued to come, almost oblivious to the fact that their prey was armed. Weiss grabbed a katana on the ground and tore through a line of infected, her white dress being stained red.

Without thinking, she used her semblance to hold a line while she sliced through it. The survivors could only stare as Weiss made mince meat out of the zombies. It was only after the hordes stopped that Weiss looked back at the others with either awe stricken faces.

"So I guess she's some sort of mage or wizard?" Francis asked.

"Her semblance is to create glyphs that either empower her or us, or hinder her target. An example is slowing or even stopping one or a series of targets." Ruby explained.

"Holy shit. That is the most badass thing I've seen so far." Louis laughed. "So yo, does everyone have this semblance thing? Cause I really want one of those."

'That's right! It might be entirely possible that the people from this world have an aura and semblance too! I never even considered that a possibility.' Ruby thought. But then she stopped herself. "I wouldn't count on it."

"I agree. If your world has never even heard of anything like auras and semblances, then it's possible that it's blocked from this world." Black stated, almost exactly reading Ruby's mind.

"Damn. Well them's the breaks." Louis sighed.

"Regardless, I wouldn't rely on us if I were you. Our powers are enhanced with semblances and auras, yes, but they are still a finite power. We all have a limit to how far we can push our powers." Blake added. The reasoning made sense to the four, and made them reconsider their tactics.

"Never thought of it like that. I guess we were kinda leaning on you guys this entire time." Zoey said half guiltily.

"Then we'll have to pull our own weights. If we rely on you four the whole time, if we ever get separated, then we'll be in big trouble." Bill said.

As if to solidify that point, the survivors marched forward and up the dumpster. Meanwhile, zombies lurked in the shadows, watching the group with glowing eyes, as if learning from their every movement.

And that thought, the thought that the zombies were not only mutating, but growing sentience, it shook and terrified them more than anything. Each clear room was no longer solace to the survivors, but a kin to torment. And what was worse, the more they advanced, the more half eaten corpses there were.

"If this is why zombies eat brains, then I am pretty damn terrified of that concept now." Yang shuddered.

"It actually seems like gunshots alert them. So… it might be a good idea to use either silenced weapons or close combat weapons." Blake said.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. That sounds like a good idea." Bill said. As if God himself had heard them, they found some silenced pistols and a silenced SMG. They each took one silenced pistol, while Bill took the SMG. He had to admit it was a downgrade, but in their current predicament, he didn't complain.

They soon came to a point where their only option was to go down, and worse of all, through a darkened office. "I got some bad vibes about this place." Louis said dreadfully. They all did their best to aim for the heads and conserve ammo while also making as little noise as possible.

Which was difficult considering how loud and flashy they usually were.

In a matter of minutes, they got to the bottom of the building. And right across the street, there they saw the spray painted image of the safehouse. They all had to refrain from cheering for their victory, or what seemed to be their victory.

It was far from victory, in reality. Right before them, the tar making the road morphed and molded into a creature from beyond their wildest dreams. It was definitely Grimm, but not a Grimm they have ever seen before. It had six claw riddled legs, two in the middle that could morph back into its body. Its mouth was even more horrifying, with two rows of teeth that ran all the way down to its neck, with the red Grimm eyes in a row of six on each side. It had three tails with arrow points and a wing span longer than a taxi.

What they saw wasn't a Grimm. It was a demon straight from Hell. When it roared, it sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard. It was like their skin was actually being ripped off by invisible claws, simply from its voice.

"What… the fuck… is that?" Francis could hardly whisper this sentence.

"That's not a Grimm." Ruby choked on her words. This creature of Satan was forever etched into their minds, and when a car alarm suddenly went off, it attacked the car in an instant. Within a second, the car was in half and mangled on the road, which was melted from it's summoning. When it was finished, the car could hardly be identified.

They couldn't move if they wanted. Their bodies, from pure instinct, were paralysed. But even in light of this, the demon looked directly at them. Its piercing red eyes were like daggers into their souls. What was worse, it felt like they bled from it simply looking at them.

Then in one swift moment, the demon flew like a bullet into the building, and the top collapsed completely, blocking the road to the safehouse.

"Well shit." Yang grunted. "How we gonna get there now?"

With the creature screeching in the distance, they were filled with a realizing dread. "I'm beginning to think now nowhere is safe." Bill said.

"We gotta get out of here fast." Weiss said shakily.

"No shit, but where would we go?" Francis panicked.

That sentence alone filled them with a horrific feeling. They quickly realized what Bill said was reality. Nowhere was safe. The world was destined, from this day forward, to die.

A/N

Whoa. Been a hot minute, eh? Sorry for the long wait, I was working on a few projects on the side, but then I realized how long it's been since I updated this story. So for compensation, here's a new chapter! I wanted to make the infected seem like they're more than a threat, rather than them just slapping the survivors until they die.

I mean, I'm not wrong.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this new update. I'll be making sure from here on out that this story is not a carbon copy of the game.


	12. Chapter 12: Creation

Chapter 12

Creation

The demon hunted for anything that moved, but the survivors noticed it becoming slower, which made it significantly easier to observe it. When it flew, it unfolded two other wings, and its tails connected with stringy flesh to make tail wings. And when it took off, its legs morphed back into its body. It was like a living jet that shared the likeness of a generic arrow tailed demon and a Grimm.

"This thing is relentless. It's just not leaving us alone." Francis grunted. His arm was badly slashed from a rebar, and they were treating it with whatever they could scrounge up.

"I hope we find some better medical equipment soon, otherwise that cut will get infected real quick." Zoey said worriedly. She had bandages on her head from a slab of rock falling on her head.

"And things are worse now that we know our aura can't heal you." Blake sighed. She tightened the bindings on Francis's arm, which made him inhale sharply. "It should be fine now, but try not to put too much pressure on it."

"Yeah, thanks." Francis breathed heavily. He drank some water, which was in a surprisingly high stock all things considered.

"We're lucky we found a full case of perfectly good water bottles. This is just a good sign that we're almost out of this mess." Louis concluded with hope.

"Louis, if you don't stop being positive, I'm gonna shoot down the airplane just to make you sad." Francis snarled.

"You do that, and a slashed arm will be the least of your concerns." Yang growled. "Put aside your differences for once in your life and focus on getting out of this damn city."

"Shh!" Ruby hushed. They got quiet instantly as a great shadow passed over them. They were hiding in a makeshift safe house made of rubble and a sturdy wall. And with the demon's appearance, the infected have seemed to become much more self aware. They no longer attack in random, scattered groups, but instead in a whole strike force, concentrated at certain weak points in their enemies' defenses.

Even more disconcerting, they knew when the battle was unwinnable. They weren't just mutating in terms of intelligence. Their bodies mutated as well, making half of the infected stronger than a dedicated bodybuilder.

Though their numbers were low, the infected hordes were taking advantage in strength more than numbers.

"How much further away is the airport?" Blake asked.

"It should be a few blocks away. But…" Bill rested his head in his hands for a second. "I don't think flying out of here is a good idea."

"What the hell does that mean? Right now, a plane out of here sounds like the best idea!" Zoey exclaimed.

"That demon can fly as well. If we take to the sky it could slash us down in the next instant." Bill explained. They then realized just how much of a predicament they were in. The ground wasn't safe from the zombies and the sky was nowhere near safe anymore. All around them, they heard the crashing of bomber jets trying to bomb the city.

"This is why I hate the military. They don't give a damn about those of us still kicking." Francis sighed. He took another sip of water.

"We're almost out of the city. If we can find a decent car that's still good enough to drive, we can high tail it out of here." Blake stated. But Ruby, with a grim look on her face, shook her head.

"That won't work. No matter what equation for evacuation we come up with, we get shunned the same answer: the arrow tailed demon is too fast and too strong. We'd need to kill it before we even think of escaping." Ruby explained.

"What about a subway tunnel? Maybe there's a tunnel or something that isn't completely infested with infected." Yang stated.

"We'd run the risk of being crushed by random debris. With how unstable the structures around here are, it wouldn't be surprising if the subways were already bombed shut." Bill answered bluntly. "Face facts, kid. We're as good as dead here with that demon in our way."

"No, no, there's got to be a way! I'm not dying in this burning pile of rubble!" Yang exclaimed.

"Then what? Do you want us to take on that demon and have some dignity dying?" Bill snarled. It was clear that he wasn't going to change his mind. And that alone made it all the more terrifying.

Nothing came to their minds. Another explosion sounded, and the earth shook and trembled. Another building collapsed, another hope destroyed.

They came out of their shelter. The great buildings that once stood tall were now reduced to rubble and ash. Then the demon landed a block away, staring death into the survivors. It licked its teeth and its eyes all trained on Ruby, and she felt a paralysing fear rush through her.

Its claws scrapped the concrete as it crawled closer to them. They rose their guns, except for Ruby, who couldn't move her body.

The end was now, it seemed. It flew at them with incredible speed, and it seemed that it was over.

But before it impacted, a blinding green light pushed back the demon. At the center of the light was a small, pretty jewel. But only Ruby could see this, as the others were reeling from the blinding light. The fear that shook Ruby was gone now, and the light seemed to heal all her wounds and scars. She slowly stepped forward and, in a trance like state, took the jewel from the air. The power rushed through her like a shot of adrenaline, and she could feel a new form wrap around her hand. The jewel traveled to the back of her right hand, and created a gauntlet made of silver. The demon was frightened at this sight, and fled in an instant.

While it was airborne, the jewel sent a beam of light to chase the demon. When it hit, the demon fell to the ground, its wings useless. Slowly, the light died down, and the others could see.

"What the hell just happened?" Francis asked.

"I'm… not sure myself. I grabbed the jewel and it just made a glove." Ruby explained. The gauntlet was now much more visible. It was pure silver with a perfect indent in the middle of the back of the palm. And inside was the green jewel that shone a soft green light.

"But there's something I don't understand. Why did it choose you?" Zoey asked. "You were the only one not blinded by it, so why?"

"Because of the gift she has been blessed with." A firm, yet soft voice said. They all looked around, but did not see anyone else around. "Why do you look for a form? I believe I have none." The voice said again.

"Whoa! Look!" Ruby exclaimed. She held the gauntlet up for them to see the jewel.

"Is it so hard to believe a gem can talk? You know, there's a whole string of universes where they have physical forms of light. I'm no different." The jewel said. Each time it spoke, it lit up.

"The gem is the one talking? How the f-" Yang questioned.

"Ah! No foul language please! I do believe the Lord wished for us to have clean tongues." The jewel spoke rather bluntly.

"Oh great, a christian gem." Francis rolled his eyes.

"A gem which saved your lives. I would expect much more praise from you lot, after all I did spend the tremendous energy to arrive here." The jewel said with a hurt tone. "But after all, this world hasn't long to live now."

"What does that mean?" Weiss asked sternly.

"Please child, I mean no harm upon you. In fact, I wish quite the opposite. After all, I did rejuvenate your bodies and stop time just so we can talk." The jewel said in a bit of a casual tone. They then realized that their wounds were nothing but scars now.

"How- when-" Bill stuttered.

"Still think magic is make-believe now?" The jewel laughed. "I suppose I should properly introduce myself: I am the Fragment of Creation, the physical embodiment of life and creation itself. When God created the universe, I was too created. When man was made, and when God rested, I maintained that life in a balanced manner."

"Balanced? As in giving no powers to us?" Zoey asked.

"Quite so. Why would I give man powers when it already has knowledge?" The Fragment said. "If man were to be given infinite power, the world around him would collapse. However, of course their imagination had to cave into that craving. And thus the string universes were made. Any predictions man make, those predictions come alive in an alternate universe. If man tells of a story of another world, so does that world exist."

"Wait, so this world is a creation of another human?" Ruby asked in a shocked tone.

"Precisely. As are all other worlds and universes." The Fragment stated.

"Okay, now that's bullshit." Francis snarled, with the fragment shouting "Language!"

"I'm not buying that. There's no way we're all just words in a book!" Yang shouted.

"Is that so hard to believe? Is it not possible to accept that hundreds, if not thousands of people read over your lives? That they fantasise of what you could be? Of what you become?" The Fragment asked.

"Shut up!" Blake yelled.

"We're alive! We always have been!" Zoey exclaimed.

"State your earliest memory. Right now." The Fragment commanded.

Everyone was silent. The first memory they had was fighting zombies. Nothing before that, only after.

"Exactly. You only live because the creator allows you to. Why, my power is the only reason you live, why this world exists. Because I allow it to exist." The Fragment continued. "But if you think your struggle is great, look at the core universe."

In that moment, they could see the true world. The wars, the day-to-day conflicts. It was so alike to the survivors' world, but to team RWBY, it was nothing short of a nightmare. The world wars, the wars before, the original sin, the sins committed after. The suffering of mankind and the hurt and pain they went through on a daily basis. They saw and felt it all in an instant. They were all too stunned to say anything. It was nothing like anything they've ever seen before.

"These humans were born without any semblance of superpowers. But that's exactly why they're special: because they have such incredible power to create other universes without them even knowing it. Even false religions were created a small, insignificant world. The point I'm getting at is that this world around you is insignificant. The only reason I came here was for young Ruby Rose, as well as the fact that I have reason to believe Iserrule the Distortion is somewhere in this world." The Fragment explained.

"Iser-who? Does anything you say make sense?" Yang asked in an impatient tone, trying to get her mind off what she saw.

"Iserrule the Distortion is the most powerful being in the multiverse, and he is hunting me. But at the same time, I am hunting him. It's a mutual game of cat and mouse, where we both think we are the cat." The Fragment stated. He then went to explain Iserrule's origin.

"He was created by an ancient power, something even I had forgotten. A powerful order that was lost in time and space, who made their own universe at the corner of existence. They made him as a means to an end. He was born in a world of darkness and fire. His power is a classic villain power, but still made to be even more powerful. He can absorb universal energy to completely destroy matter.

"He destroyed his universe and went to destroy every universe he could. His reasoning is, as of now, unknown. But his power is definite, and if I'm honest, growing with every passing moment. As of now, he plots the destruction of this universe and those before it."

They all shared worried glances. "But what does this have to do with me?" Ruby asked, a question dwindling in the back of everyone else's minds.

"Because you bear the silver eyes, and furthermore, the Silver Strength." The Fragment answered.

"So you're saying her eyes are special? What good is that?" Bill said impatiently.

"The Silver Strength is a cultivated power with the sole purpose to destroy Iserrule and bring about a peace to the multiverse. But it is also said at the final checkpoint, Iserrule will be unveiled, and the darkness will fade. This is the prophecy which has been spoken through generations. It originated from a variant of Remnant.

A world with no Grimm, but in turmoil. In there was a man named Gin Chikara, a man with a useless ability to turn dark places into well lit areas. But he had a strong heart, and wanted to stop all the wars of his world. Iserrule himself attempted to kill the man, but when he was on the brink of death, something extraordinary happened. A fragment of Iserrule's power was stolen, and transferred to the young man. And the useless power he had finally became of use.

The power to turn darkness into light merged with Iserrule's power, and with that, his special gene to have silver eyes. And on top of it all, the power to follow Iserrule wherever he goes. Gin Chikara- or rather his spirit- became the defender of the multiverse. It was after hundreds of incarnations that Gin Chikara gained the strength to go up against and, for the first time, wound Iserrule. After that, knowledge of Iserrule crossed into several universes. And eventually, he was dubbed the title of Iserrule the Distortion, or simply Distortion. He could also be called Chaos, or the Final Chapter.

And since then, there has been a special connection to Gin Chikara's spirit, as well as his bloodline. And Ruby shares both his spirit and his blood. Therefore, it's been foretold that the girl of the roses shall be the savior of the multiverse and destroyer of Iserrule."

The story was so far fetched to the survivors. The zombies were one thing, but an interdimensional beast able to destroy entire universes was beyond their comprehension. "And how do we know you aren't bullshitting us?" Francis demanded from the jewel.

"It is physically impossible for me to lie to anyone, even to myself. That being said, I have foreseen this worlds outcome. It is bound to die, along with so many others. But there is still hope after death. For even after the dust settles, you shall still live." The fragment stated.

"Okay, NOW I know you're playing with us. Death is death, there's no coming back from it!" Zoey said with a surprisingly stern tone.

"Sure, if you're simple minded. But for those with a mind of possibilities, death is only the beginning to a great battle. Keep my words in mind. You'll need them one day." The fragment then dimmed, and did not light up again.

"Damn stone, talking absolute nonsense! C'mon, we have to keep moving." Bill grunted as he trudged onward. The other survivors followed suit, but team RWBY stood still.

"So we just ignore a stone that just saved us?" Yang turned to the survivors, who looked at her like she was crazy.

"Excuse me? Did you hear the things it was saying?" Francis scoffed.

"I think the real question is: did you? Did you not see those visions of humankind suffering? The wars they fought, the struggles of life? Did none of that even phase you?" Ruby said with the most serious tone they've ever heard.

"We've already seen all that, we know what mankind has been through. So what if the world that made us struggled like that too, we're struggling out here right now." Bill stated.

"I can't believe you." Blake sighed, shaking her head.

"You're actually saying you don't care for the struggling of humanity, so long as you yourselves survive?" Weiss growled.

"Yeah, so what? What's so wrong with self-preservation?" Francis asked with the most blunt tone.

"Are you joking right now?! What you guys are saying is NOT self-preservation. It's turning a blind eye to humanity! Our own SPECIES! How can you just stand there and say there's nothing wrong with letting our own people being obliterated?!" Yang shouted. Her voice echoed through the ruined city.

An ominous wind howled through the rubble. Louis, at long last, spoke. "I think they're right, you guys."

"Seriously? You're taking that stone's bull?" Bill questioned.

"I'm doing what I feel is right. And going against every one of my morals is wrong." Louis stared at Bill right in the eyes as he said this.

"I think Louis and Yang are right in this case. We're wanting to ignore our own peoples' suffering and go about living on our own. That's… that's just not right." Zoey stated.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we need to leave this God forbidden city." Bill said.

"Then go. A battle is coming. A battle that we can't win." Ruby said. The Fragment then began to glow intensely. The ominous wind that once was a mild breeze was now a raging tornado. The clouds and smoke above began to swirl, pitch black clouds beginning to form, a rift of time and space opening right before their eyes.

"A shame. Not that the Fragment sought you out, but that the sheep strayed from their shepard." A dark voice sighed in the black inferno. The clouds burst, and the world was plunged into a deeper darkness. The Fragment then began to glow a blinding light, and in the center of the storm of death and destruction, there was a single red glow.

"No." Ruby gasped.

"What, you thought you held the only Fragment of Reality?" Iserrule laughed. And in his left hand, a blood red stone.

In his hand, the Fragment of Destruction.


	13. Chapter 13: Iserrule the Distortion

Chapter 13

Iserrule The Distortion

"It's a shame, really. I could have used this world for such amazing potential. But, hey, there are plenty of other playground universes out there." Iserrule laughed. Ruby's fist was clenched so tight her knuckles turned white, and all the others had their weapons trained directly at Iserrule's face. "Please, don't try to resist. It'll be that much easier for both of us. However, I will spare this world if you simply give me the Fragment of Creation."

"You have that other stone- what is it?!" Ruby demanded. Her fist shone with a powerful green aura.

"The Fragment didn't tell you? Ha! And here I though God shared all his secrets with his chosen ones!" Iserrule laughed hysterically. His voice echoed through the rubble of a city. "The Fragment of Destruction was created when sin first entered the Ultimate Core Universe. It's the exact opposite of the Fragment of Creation- able to destroy any matter at will. And, paired with my own power of destruction, I could destroy a hundred string universes with the snap of my fingers! But of course, as the Fragment of Creation's power comes from all the 'good' in the multiverse, my Fragment's power comes from every ounce of sin in mankind- and you wouldn't BELIEVE how much sin there is in their world alone! Just think of what I could do if all mankind was disjointed and in chaos."

As Iserrule finished that statement, Ruby leaped with blinding speeds at Iserrule. Their fists collided, and the reality around them distorted, matter around them deforming and reforming again and again. Their powers bled out into the world around them and malformed the entire universe. Stars vanished from the sky, and novas formed in the sky as reminders that the world around them was collapsing. Then they collided again. The clouds began to form in shapes of demons and angels, monsters and guardians, the very faces of death and life itself. The stones raged on, both attempting to bring their own order to the universe around them, but only causing more violence.

Ruby refused to give in, however, and continued to fight against the ultimate evil in the universe. She knew she couldn't win, but if she could even wound Iserrule- even if it was just a scratch- then she would know that he could be beaten.

Their fight elevated to the clouds. Each impact lit up the darkness, only to plunge the world back into a suffocating shadow. The battle of light and darkness was one of agony for the world, and each impact amalgamated the universe even further.

Ruby's semblance fused with the Fragment's power, and her speed was blinding as she smashed Iserrule back to the ground with more power than a nuclear bomb. The earth shook, and the ground split open like a melon. Iserrule was hardly phased by this, as he plunged his fist into the ground. Red matter split the ground open even wider, and it spread to the very air. Ruby immediately plunged her hand into the ground, and the red matter rushed back and impacted against Iserrule. Angered, Iserrule sent a column of black fire at Ruby, only catching the tip of her cape. It spread across like a cancer, but Ruby used the Fragment's power to put it out before it got to her skin. Iserrule rushed her while she was distracted, only giving her time to just barely conjure an energy shield for herself, which was just barely enough to brace the impact. Iserrule smashed her left arm, and her bones cracked under the pressure, blood spraying from her wound. She screamed in agony as the energy shattered, sending her flying into a forest. Trees broke apart by her momentum alone. The bones in her arm healed as quickly as they were broken, but Iserrule knew that. He knew a broken bone wouldn't stop her, so he acted quickly.

His judgement, speed, power, experience- they were all superior to Ruby's. For her, a 15 year old girl, to go up against an ancient being thousands of years old- she couldn't do it.

"I can't beat you. Not in a million years. I… I'm sorry everyone. Weiss… Blake… Yang… I'm sorry…" Ruby shed tears as she said this. Her inspiration, her hope, her will to go on- it all faded in an instant. She accepted her defeat.

"DON'T GIVE UP!" Ruby heard. It was Yang's voice! "SHOW THIS GUY WHAT YOU GOT!"

"YOU CAN'T GIVE UP NOW! BEAT HIM!" Weiss exclaimed.

"YOU CAN DO IT, RUBY!" Blake shouted.

"BEAT THIS SUCKER!" All the survivors shouted in unison.

In a flare of emotion, Ruby's willpower returned to her. The entire world- what was left of it, anyway- they were all counting on her, cheering her on. Relying on her. How could she give up now?

Their fists clashed once again. But this time the distortion was much more tamed. Ruby was now controlling her power. The world was now more balanced.

"Dammit! How are you getting stronger?!" Iserrule exclaimed.

"I WON'T LET YOU WIN!" Ruby exclaimed, her voice filled with the hope of mankind. The Fragment began to glow brilliantly, the light of a billion universes shining through it, and her power was equal to Iserrule's.

"THIS WORLD IS DOOMED TO DIE, AND YET YOU STILL FIGHT?! JUST HOW SENTIMENTAL CAN YOU GET?!" Iserrule shouted as he sent another pillar of black fire at Ruby, but the Fragment countered this perfectly, and she rushed again at Iserrule, not giving him a moment to think. But this time, instead of blocking his attack, she dodged it, and clenched her fist.

'Thank you… everyone.' Ruby rushed with blinding speed at Iserrule now. Her power was amplified a thousand fold. "UNIVERSAL IMPACT!" Ruby shouted this from the depths of her heart, as she thrust her fist at Iserrule. Their fists collided for the last time, and the universe nearly collapsed around them, the earth splitting open and hell itself pouring into the world. Molten magma rained from the sky and scorched the world in fire.

And in the end, Iserrule stood on top with Ruby's bones shattered and broken, her flesh burnt and her face scarred. "It's impressive how much power you pulled from this miserable world, but your blades didn't cut deep enough." And with those final words, he rose his fist to the sky, and the power of the fragment ripped reality apart from the seams. And the universe became nothing but a shadow in the rifts of time and space. And another light in the chapel went out. Another candle extinguished.

To be concluded  
Rose of the Underground

Escape Reality


End file.
